Walter Scott Jr Energy Center
Coal power plant · Pottawattamie County, Iowa
Nameplate capacity
1,648 MW
Rank in Iowa
#1
of 305 plants
In service since
1978
December 1978
Details
- Primary fuel
- Coal
- Technology
- Conventional Steam Coal
- Operator
- MidAmerican Energy Co
- County
- Pottawattamie County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 6.62%
- Rank among coal plants in Iowa
- #1 of 8
- EIA plant code
- 1082
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | 923 MW | 806 MW | 2007 | Operating |
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | 726 MW | 706 MW | 1978 | 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
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 1,648 MW solar plant and a 1,648 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