CRANE CREEK WIND ENERGY CENTER
OperatingWind power plant
- Capacity
- 99 MW
- Primary fuel
- Wind
- County
- Howard County
- Operator
- WISCONSIN PUBLIC SERVICE CORP
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2009
- EIA plant ID
- 56831
- Generators
- 1
- Technology
- Onshore Wind Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 302 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 35%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 43.4375, -92.5435
CRANE CREEK WIND ENERGY CENTER, a 99 MW Wind power plant in Howard County, Iowa. Operated by WISCONSIN PUBLIC SERVICE CORP, commissioned 2009.
How CRANE CREEK WIND ENERGY CENTER compares
With 99 MW of capacity, CRANE CREEK WIND ENERGY CENTER ranks 45th among the 198 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Iowa and 24th of the 63 operating Wind plants in the state. It accounts for about 1.9% of Iowa's operating Wind capacity and 0.6% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 261st-largest of the 708 operating Wind plants in the database. Commissioned in 2009, it is newer than 76% of the 198 operating Iowa plants with a recorded commissioning year. It shares Howard County with one other operating plant, ALLIANT SBD 9206 DONALDSON.
EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 99 MW of nameplate capacity, all onshore wind turbine technology. Net generation was 302 GWh in 2024 (a 35% capacity factor), up 11% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 345 kV line owned by MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO, about 1.1 miles away. Another 9 operating power plants totaling 652 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM (300 MW, Wind). Within 50 miles is one mapped data center, NP Rochester in Rochester, about 40.5 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records, EIA-860/923 survey data and PeeringDB data center locations; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
CRANE CREEK WIND ENERGY CENTER is a 99 MW wind power plant in Howard County, IA, operated by WISCONSIN PUBLIC SERVICE CORP, commissioned in 2009. Howard County carries high modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 3.5 of 5 at the 64th national percentile. Heat wave is the leading peril, rated Very Low by FEMA at the 90th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a wind plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Howard County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat wave | Very Low | 90th | 4.6 of 5 | 3.8 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 80th | 4.2 of 5 | 0.34 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 78th | 4.1 of 5 | 3.8 |
| Lightning | Very Low | 71st | 3.8 of 5 | 38.3 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 69th | 3.8 of 5 | 4.6 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 61st | 3.4 of 5 | 18.7 |
| Riverine flooding | Very Low | 56th | 3.2 of 5 | 1.0 |
| Ice storm | Very Low | 35th | 2.4 of 5 | 0.74 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 15th | 1.6 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 8th | 1.3 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 5th | 1.2 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Howard County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Howard County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.