Whelan Energy Center
Coal power plant · Adams County, Nebraska
Nameplate capacity
324 MW
Rank in Nebraska
#9
of 138 plants
In service since
1981
July 1981
Details
- Primary fuel
- Coal
- Technology
- Conventional Steam Coal
- Operator
- City of Hastings - (NE)
- County
- Adams County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 2.67%
- Rank among coal plants in Nebraska
- #4 of 8
- EIA plant code
- 60
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | 248 MW | 220 MW | 2011 | Operating |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | 76 MW | 76 MW | 1981 | 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 Nebraska
| Cass County | Natural gas | 345 MW |
| Sarpy County | Natural gas | 338 MW |
| Rattlesnake Creek Wind Project | Wind | 318 MW |
| Milligan 1 Wind Farm | Wind | 300 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 324 MW solar plant and a 324 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 Nebraska power plants · What Nebraska actually generates