Nameplate capacity
8.2 MW
Rank in Minnesota
#157
of 804 plants
In service since
1945
July 1945
Details
- Primary fuel
- Other
- Technology
- Petroleum Liquids
- Operator
- Melrose Public Utilities
- County
- Stearns County
- Generating units
- 4
- Share of state capacity
- 0.04%
- Rank among other plants in Minnesota
- #38 of 71
- EIA plant code
- 1994
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | 3.1 MW | 3.1 MW | 1969 | Operating |
| 4 | Petroleum Liquids | 3.0 MW | 3.1 MW | 1969 | Operating |
| 2 | Petroleum Liquids | 1.1 MW | 0.9 MW | 1948 | Operating |
| 1 | Petroleum Liquids | 1.0 MW | 0.8 MW | 1945 | Standby/Backup: available for service but not normally used |
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
| West Waconia Solar | Solar | 8.5 MW |
| Cisco | Wind | 8.4 MW |
| Hometown Bio Energy LLC | Other | 8.0 MW |
| West Group Data Center | Other | 8.0 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 8.2 MW solar plant and a 8.2 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