4th largest plant in Minnesota · 463rd nationally
Mankato Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 741 MW. It generates roughly 2.6M MWh per year — enough to power about 251,318 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 41% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 895 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 (741 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 | Mankato Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Mec Holdings, Llc |
| City | Mankato |
| County | Blue Earth County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 56001 |
| Coordinates | 44.19880, -94.00300 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 360 MW | Operating | 2006 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 192 MW | Operating | 2006 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 189 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| CO₂ | 1.2M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 6 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 84 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 895 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 | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
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.