French Island
Other power plant · La Crosse County, Wisconsin
Nameplate capacity
188 MW
Rank in Wisconsin
#27
of 278 plants
In service since
1940
January 1940
Details
- Primary fuel
- Other
- Technology
- Petroleum Liquids
- Operator
- Northern States Power Co - Minnesota
- County
- La Crosse County
- Generating units
- 4
- Share of state capacity
- 0.95%
- Rank among other plants in Wisconsin
- #1 of 36
- EIA plant code
- 4005
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Petroleum Liquids | 79 MW | 61 MW | 1974 | Operating |
| 4 | Petroleum Liquids | 79 MW | 58 MW | 1974 | Operating |
| 1 | Municipal Solid Waste | 15 MW | 9.0 MW | 1940 | Operating |
| 2 | Municipal Solid Waste | 15 MW | 7.0 MW | 1948 | 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 Wisconsin
| Wood County | Solar | 225 MW |
| De Pere Energy Center | Natural gas | 192 MW |
| West Marinette | Natural gas | 187 MW |
| West Campus Cogeneration Facility | Natural gas | 169 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 188 MW solar plant and a 188 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 Wisconsin power plants · What Wisconsin actually generates