176th largest plant in Iowa · 6528th nationally
West Bend is a oil power plant in Iowa with a nameplate capacity of 6.7 MW. It generates roughly 471 MWh per year — enough to power about 44 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 2369 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | West Bend |
|---|---|
| Operator | City Of West Bend |
| City | West Bent |
| County | Palo Alto County |
| State | Iowa |
| ZIP | 50597 |
| Coordinates | 42.96115, -94.44557 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.5 MW | Standby | 2013 |
| 4 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 2.2 MW | Standby | 1973 |
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 1.1 MW | Standby | 1959 |
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 0.9 MW | Standby | 1954 |
| CO₂ | 558 metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 10 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2369 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.. |
Oil-fired plants typically run only during peak demand or grid emergencies because oil is expensive compared to gas and coal. They have the highest CO₂ emissions per MWh of any common generation technology.