85th largest plant in Minnesota · 4256th nationally
Rapids Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 28.4 MW. It generates roughly 34.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,254 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 14% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 628 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (28.4 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Rapids Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Allete, Inc. |
| City | Grand Rapids |
| County | Itasca County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55744 |
| Coordinates | 47.23483, -93.53717 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 14.0 MW | Operating | 1980 |
| 6 | Natural Gas Steam Turbine | Natural Gas | 12.5 MW | Operating | 1969 |
| HYD | Conventional Hydroelectric | Water | 1.9 MW | Operating | 1943 |
| CO₂ | 10.7k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 3 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 628 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 | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
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.