Prairie Island
Nuclear power plant · Goodhue County, Minnesota
Nameplate capacity
1,186 MW
Rank in Minnesota
#2
of 804 plants
In service since
1974
February 1974
Details
- Primary fuel
- Nuclear
- Technology
- Nuclear
- Operator
- Northern States Power Co - Minnesota
- County
- Goodhue County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 5.97%
- Rank among nuclear plants in Minnesota
- #1 of 2
- EIA plant code
- 1925
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nuclear | 593 MW | 521 MW | 1974 | Operating |
| 2 | Nuclear | 593 MW | 519 MW | 1974 | 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
| Sherburne County | Coal | 1,704 MW |
| Clay Boswell | Coal | 923 MW |
| Mankato Energy Center | Natural gas | 741 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 1,186 MW solar plant and a 1,186 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