22nd largest plant in Wisconsin · 1270th nationally
Wheaton is a natural gas power plant in Wisconsin with a nameplate capacity of 247 MW. It generates roughly 30.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,941 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Wheaton |
|---|---|
| Operator | Northern States Power Co - Minnesota |
| City | Eau Claire |
| County | Chippewa County |
| State | Wisconsin |
| ZIP | 54701 |
| Coordinates | 44.88542, -91.51583 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WHT08 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 249 MW | Under Construction | — |
| 5 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 53.1 MW | Retired | 1973 |
| 6 | Petroleum Liquids | Distillate Oil | 53.1 MW | Retired | 1973 |
| 1 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.5 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.5 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.5 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| 4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.5 MW | Operating | 1973 |
| WHT09 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| WHT10 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| WHT11 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| WHT12 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| WHT13 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.8 MW | Under Construction | — |
| SO₂ | 1 metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 67 metric tons |
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.