97th largest plant in Minnesota · 4560th nationally
Univ Minnesota Chp Plant is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 21.0 MW. It generates roughly 173.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 16,566 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 95% means it runs nearly around-the-clock as baseload generation. At 1229 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Univ Minnesota Chp Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | University Of Minnesota Central Utilities |
| City | Minneapolis |
| County | Hennepin County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55414 |
| Coordinates | 44.97861, -93.24083 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTG-1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 21.0 MW | Operating | 2017 |
| CO₂ | 106.9k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 3 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 293 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1229 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.