Wilmarth

🌿 BiomassElectric Utility25 MW capacity

88th largest plant in Minnesota · 4367th nationally

Wilmarth is a biomass power plant in Minnesota with a nameplate capacity of 25.0 MW. It generates roughly 97.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 9,241 average U.S. homes.

Its capacity factor of 44% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2186 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.

PeakingMid-meritBaseload0%40%80%100%44%
Mid-merit — steady but not full-time

Month by month in 2024

100% capacity0Jan: 5.8k MWh (31% of capacity)JFMar: 5.4k MWh (29% of capacity)MApr: 11.7k MWh (65% of capacity)AMay: 11.5k MWh (62% of capacity)MJun: 11.9k MWh (66% of capacity)JJul: 9.5k MWh (51% of capacity)JAug: 10.6k MWh (57% of capacity)ASep: 9.4k MWh (52% of capacity)SOct: 10.5k MWh (56% of capacity)ONov: 10.1k MWh (56% of capacity)NDec: 9.4k MWh (50% of capacity)D

Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (25.0 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.

Capacity25 MWnameplate
Annual Generation97.0k MWhEPA eGRID
Capacity Factor44%of theoretical max
Annual CO₂106.1kmetric tons

Location

Plant NameWilmarth
OperatorNorthern States Power Co - Minnesota
CityMankato
CountyBlue Earth County
StateMinnesota
ZIP56001
Coordinates44.19670, -94.00090

This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.

Natural GasCoalOilHydroelectricSolarBiomass

Generators (2)

IDTechnologyFuelCapacityStatusOnline
1Municipal Solid WasteMunicipal Waste12.5 MWOperating1948
2Municipal Solid WasteMunicipal Waste12.5 MWOperating1951

Emissions (annual)

CO₂106.1k metric tons
SO₂144 metric tons
NOₓ424 metric tons
CO₂ Rate2186 lb/MWh
U.S. grid average800 lb/MWhNatural gas combined-cycle average900 lb/MWhCoal plant average2,100 lb/MWhThis plant2,185 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.

Grid context

NERC RegionMRO
Balancing AuthorityMidcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..

About Biomass plants

Biomass plants burn wood, agricultural waste, or methane from landfills to generate steam and electricity. They are considered carbon-neutral over long timescales when fuel is sustainably sourced, but they produce particulate emissions similar to coal.

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