Upper Sterling
Hydro power plant · Whiteside County, Illinois
Nameplate capacity
2.2 MW
Rank in Illinois
#293
of 580 plants
In service since
1988
June 1988
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- City of Rock Falls - (IL)
- County
- Whiteside County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.00%
- Rank among hydro plants in Illinois
- #5 of 7
- EIA plant code
- 7474
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 1.1 MW | 1.0 MW | 1988 | Out of service but expected to return to service in next calendar year |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 1.1 MW | 1.0 MW | 1988 | Out of service but expected to return to service in next calendar year |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in Illinois
| IL University Park 450 Central Ave | Solar | 2.3 MW |
| USS Cattail Solar | Solar | 2.3 MW |
| 10601 Seymour Ave East 2 CSG | Solar | 2.0 MW |
| 2662 Freeport Solar 1 CSG | Solar | 2.0 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 2.2 MW solar plant and a 2.2 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Illinois power plants · What Illinois actually generates