Brainerd Public Utilities
Hydro power plant · Crow Wing County, Minnesota
Nameplate capacity
2.9 MW
Rank in Minnesota
#348
of 804 plants
In service since
1936
January 1936
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Brainerd Public Utilities
- County
- Crow Wing County
- Generating units
- 5
- Share of state capacity
- 0.01%
- Rank among hydro plants in Minnesota
- #14 of 22
- EIA plant code
- 50636
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 0.6 MW | 0.6 MW | 2017 | Operating |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 0.6 MW | 0.6 MW | 2017 | Operating |
| 4 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 0.6 MW | 0.6 MW | 1936 | Out of service but expected to return to service in next calendar year |
| 5 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 0.6 MW | 0.6 MW | 1940 | Out of service but expected to return to service in next calendar year |
| 3 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 0.5 MW | 0.5 MW | 1936 | 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 Minnesota
| WakeSun LLC | Solar | 3.0 MW |
| Woodbury Solar | Solar | 3.0 MW |
| Waterford Holdco CSG | Solar | 2.7 MW |
| Lanesboro | Other | 2.6 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 2.9 MW solar plant and a 2.9 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 Minnesota power plants · What Minnesota actually generates