9th largest plant in North Dakota · 1098th nationally
Pioneer Generation Station is a natural gas power plant in North Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 293 MW. It generates roughly 1.5M MWh per year — enough to power about 144,094 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 59% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 408 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Pioneer Generation Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Basin Electric Power Coop |
| City | Williston |
| County | Williams County |
| State | North Dakota |
| ZIP | 58801 |
| Coordinates | 48.23250, -103.95278 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 246 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 05 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 246 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 01 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2013 |
| 02 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| 03 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 60.5 MW | Operating | 2014 |
| 31 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 32 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 33 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 34 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 35 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 36 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 18.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 11 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 12 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 13 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 14 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 15 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 16 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 17 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 18 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 19 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 20 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 21 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| 22 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| CO₂ | 308.3k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 2 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 31 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 408 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 | Southwest Power Pool |
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.