Westside Energy Station
Natural gas power plant · Olmsted County, Minnesota
Nameplate capacity
47 MW
Rank in Minnesota
#70
of 804 plants
In service since
2018
March 2018
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine
- Operator
- Rochester Public Utilities
- County
- Olmsted County
- Generating units
- 5
- Share of state capacity
- 0.23%
- Rank among natural gas plants in Minnesota
- #21 of 36
- EIA plant code
- 60564
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WES1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.3 MW | 9.3 MW | 2018 | Operating |
| WES2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.3 MW | 9.3 MW | 2018 | Operating |
| WES3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.3 MW | 9.3 MW | 2018 | Operating |
| WES4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.3 MW | 9.3 MW | 2018 | Operating |
| WES5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | 9.3 MW | 9.3 MW | 2018 | 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
| Minnesota River | Natural gas | 49 MW |
| Shakopee Energy Park | Natural gas | 47 MW |
| Fillmore County Solar Project | Solar | 45 MW |
| Palmer's Creek Wind Farm, LLC | Wind | 45 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 47 MW solar plant and a 47 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