50th largest plant in Minnesota · 2601st nationally
Mower County Wind Energy Center is a wind power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 98.9 MW. It generates roughly 316.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 30,093 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 36% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Mower County Wind Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota |
| City | Grand Meadow |
| County | Mower County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55936 |
| Coordinates | 43.61407, -92.59882 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 98.9 MW | Operating | 2006 |
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
Wind farms harvest kinetic energy from moving air using large rotor blades coupled to generators. Like solar, they produce zero emissions but vary with weather. Onshore wind capacity factors typically run 30–45%; offshore can exceed 50%.