72nd largest plant in Iowa · 2277th nationally
Storm Lake 1 is a wind power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 114 MW. It generates roughly 94.5k MWh per year — enough to power about 8,997 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 9% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Storm Lake 1 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Allete Clean Energy |
| City | Alta |
| County | Buena Vista County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 51002 |
| Coordinates | 42.68780, -95.40500 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXIS | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 113 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| 2 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 0.7 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| 3 | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 0.7 MW | Operating | 1999 |
| 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%.