28th largest plant in Iowa · 1219th nationally
O'brien Wind is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 250 MW. It generates roughly 834.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 79,486 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 38% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | O'brien Wind |
|---|---|
| Operator | Midamerican Energy Co |
| City | Primghar |
| County | O'brien County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 51245 |
| Coordinates | 43.20042, -95.62431 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OBWF2 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 109 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| OBWF3 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 79.7 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| OBWF4 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 72.5 MW | Cancelled | — |
| OBWF5 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 72.5 MW | Cancelled | — |
| OBWF6 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 72.5 MW | Cancelled | — |
| OBWF | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 61.9 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| 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%.