69th largest plant in Minnesota · 3755th nationally
Westside Energy Station is a natural gas power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 46.5 MW. It generates roughly 48.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,609 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 12% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 978 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Westside Energy Station |
|---|---|
| Operator | Rochester Public Utilities |
| City | Rochester |
| County | Olmsted County |
| State | Minnesota |
| ZIP | 55901 |
| Coordinates | 44.03902, -92.55187 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WES1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| WES2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| WES3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| WES4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| WES5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| CO₂ | 23.7k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 524 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 978 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.