34th largest plant in South Dakota · 3543rd nationally
Wessington Springs is a wind power plant in South Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 51.0 MW. It generates roughly 207.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 19,722 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 46% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Wessington Springs |
|---|---|
| Operator | Wessington Wind |
| City | Wessington Springs |
| County | Jerauld County |
| State | South Dakota |
| ZIP | 57382 |
| Coordinates | 44.00250, -98.59083 |
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 | 51.0 MW | Operating | 2009 |
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Southwest Power Pool |
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%.