23rd largest plant in South Dakota · 2127th nationally
Wild Springs is a solar power plant in South Dakota with a nameplate capacity of 128 MW.
| Plant Name | Wild Springs |
|---|---|
| Operator | National Grid Renewables |
| City | New Underwood |
| County | Pennington County |
| State | South Dakota |
| ZIP | 57761 |
| Coordinates | 44.07000, -102.84000 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WLDSP | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 128 MW | Operating | 2024 |
| NERC Region | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Western Area Power Administration - Rocky Mountain Region |
Utility-scale solar farms convert sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic panels. They produce zero direct emissions and have no fuel cost, but generation is variable — peaking at midday and falling to zero at night. Capacity factors typically run 18–28% in good locations.