Nameplate capacity
16 MW
Rank in Iowa
#143
of 305 plants
In service since
1946
December 1946
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
- Operator
- City of Estherville - (IA)
- County
- Emmet County
- Generating units
- 5
- Share of state capacity
- 0.06%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Iowa
- #28 of 42
- EIA plant code
- 1137
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 4.0 MW | 3.5 MW | 1969 | Operating |
| 5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 4.0 MW | 3.6 MW | 1969 | Operating |
| 3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 3.0 MW | 2.7 MW | 1960 | Operating |
| 7 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 3.0 MW | 2.7 MW | 1960 | Operating |
| 2 | Petroleum Liquids | 1.6 MW | 1.1 MW | 1946 | Operating |
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 Iowa
| Alliant SBD 9106 Rockwell CR | Other | 16 MW |
| Knoxville Industrial | Other | 16 MW |
| Hardin Hilltop Wind LLC | Wind | 15 MW |
| NCAH Central Utility Plant | Natural gas | 14 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 16 MW solar plant and a 16 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 Iowa power plants · What Iowa actually generates