17th largest plant in Iowa · 1037th nationally
Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 300 MW. It generates roughly 759.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 72,351 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 29% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm |
|---|---|
| Operator | Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm I, Llc |
| City | Mcintire |
| County | Mitchell County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50455 |
| Coordinates | 43.48390, -92.61310 |
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 | 300 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| 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%.