10th largest plant in Iowa · 734th nationally
Orient Wind Farm is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 501 MW. It generates roughly 1.7M MWh per year — enough to power about 165,764 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 40% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Orient Wind Farm |
|---|---|
| Operator | Midamerican Energy Co |
| City | Orient |
| County | Adair County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50849 |
| Coordinates | 41.20245, -94.41720 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 399 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| 1 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 102 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| 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%.