51st largest plant in Iowa · 1759th nationally
Prairie Wind Farm is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 168 MW. It generates roughly 567.5k MWh per year — enough to power about 54,043 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 39% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Prairie Wind Farm |
|---|---|
| Operator | Midamerican Energy Co |
| City | Montezuma |
| County | Mahaska County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50171 |
| Coordinates | 41.43690, -92.70382 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PWE | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 168 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%.