24th largest plant in Minnesota · 1486th nationally
Pleasant Valley Wind Farm is a wind power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 200 MW. It generates roughly 746.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 71,126 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 43% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Pleasant Valley Wind Farm |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota |
| City | Dexter |
| County | Mower County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55926 |
| Coordinates | 43.80500, -92.76972 |
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 | 200 MW | Operating | 2015 |
| 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%.