68th largest plant in Minnesota · 3691st nationally
Minnesota River is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 49.0 MW. It generates roughly 7.3k MWh per year — enough to power about 697 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 2% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1187 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Minnesota River |
|---|---|
| Operator | Minnesota Municipal Power Agny |
| City | Chaska |
| County | Carver County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55318 |
| Coordinates | 44.79523, -93.58101 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UOO1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 49.0 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| City Of Chaska - (Mn) | Chaska, MN | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 4.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 5 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1187 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.