Spearfish Hydro
Hydro power plant · Lawrence County, South Dakota
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- City of Spearfish
- County
- Lawrence County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.05%
- Rank among hydro plants in South Dakota
- #4 of 4
- EIA plant code
- 58438
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TURB1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 2.0 MW | 2.0 MW | 2012 | Operating |
| TURB2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 2.0 MW | 2.0 MW | 2012 | 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 South Dakota
| POET Biorefining - Chancellor | Other | 5.4 MW |
| Valley Queen Cheese | Other | 4.5 MW |
| POET Bioprocessing- Mitchell | Natural gas | 3.9 MW |
| POET Biorefining - Hudson | Natural gas | 3.6 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 4.0 MW solar plant and a 4.0 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 South Dakota power plants · What South Dakota actually generates