4th largest plant in North Dakota · 552nd nationally
Leland Olds is a coal power plant in North Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 656 MW. It generates roughly 3.3M MWh per year — enough to power about 310,105 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 57% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2544 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (656 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Leland Olds |
|---|---|
| Operator | Basin Electric Power Coop |
| City | Stanton |
| County | Mercer County |
| State | North Dakota |
| ZIP | 58571 |
| Coordinates | 47.28077, -101.32121 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Lignite | 440 MW | Operating | 1975 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Lignite | 216 MW | Operating | 1966 |
| CO₂ | 4.1M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1.9k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 5.0k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2544 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.