Mankato Energy Center
Natural gas power plant · Blue Earth County, Minnesota
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Operator
- MEC Holdings, LLC
- County
- Blue Earth County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 3.73%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Minnesota
- #1 of 36
- EIA plant code
- 56104
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 360 MW | 300 MW | 2006 | Operating |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 192 MW | 167 MW | 2006 | Operating |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 189 MW | 187 MW | 2019 | 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
| Prairie Island | Nuclear | 1,186 MW |
| Clay Boswell | Coal | 923 MW |
| Monticello Nuclear Facility | Nuclear | 685 MW |
| High Bridge | Natural gas | 644 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 741 MW solar plant and a 741 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