Hutchinson Plant #1
Natural gas power plant · McLeod County, Minnesota
Nameplate capacity
28 MW
Rank in Minnesota
#85
of 804 plants
In service since
2013
February 2013
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
- Operator
- Hutchinson Utilities Comm
- County
- McLeod County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 0.14%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Minnesota
- #25 of 36
- EIA plant code
- 1980
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.8 MW | 9.8 MW | 2019 | Operating |
| 12 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.8 MW | 9.8 MW | 2019 | Operating |
| 10 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 8.8 MW | 9.3 MW | 2013 | 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 Minnesota
| Community Wind North LLC | Wind | 30 MW |
| Community Wind South | Wind | 30 MW |
| Rapids Energy Center | Natural gas | 28 MW |
| Delano | Other | 27 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 28 MW solar plant and a 28 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