7th largest plant in North Dakota · 894th nationally
Lonesome Creek Station is a natural gas power plant in North Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 363 MW. It generates roughly 1.2M MWh per year — enough to power about 110,057 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 36% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1134 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Lonesome Creek Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Basin Electric Power Coop |
| City | Alexander |
| County | Mckenzie County |
| State | North Dakota |
| ZIP | 58831 |
| Coordinates | 47.79667, -103.57861 |
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| 02 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2015 |
| 03 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2015 |
| 04 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 05 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 06 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| CO₂ | 655.1k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 3 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 61 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1134 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 |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.