GEORGE NEAL SOUTH
OperatingCoal power plant
- Capacity
- 640 MW
- Primary fuel
- Coal
- County
- Woodbury County
- Operator
- MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1979
- EIA plant ID
- 7343
- Generators
- 1
- Technology
- Conventional Steam Coal
- Net generation (2024)
- 696 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 11%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 42.2996, -96.3615
GEORGE NEAL SOUTH, a 640 MW Coal power plant in Woodbury County, Iowa. Operated by MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO, commissioned 1979.
How GEORGE NEAL SOUTH compares
With 640 MW of capacity, GEORGE NEAL SOUTH ranks 5th among the 198 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Iowa and 5th of the 19 operating Coal plants in the state. It accounts for about 9.6% of Iowa's operating Coal capacity and 4.1% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 144th-largest of the 324 operating Coal plants in the database. Commissioned in 1979, it is older than 68% of the 198 operating Iowa plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO, runs 28 operating plants in Iowa totaling 8,028 MW. It shares Woodbury County with one other operating plant, GEORGE NEAL NORTH.
EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 696 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional steam coal technology. Net generation was 696 GWh in 2024 (an 11% capacity factor), down 31% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 161 kV line, about 0.2 miles away. Another 2 operating power plants totaling 1,048 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is GEORGE NEAL NORTH (1,046 MW, Coal).
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
GEORGE NEAL SOUTH is a 640 MW coal power plant in Woodbury County, IA, operated by MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO, commissioned in 1979. Woodbury County carries high modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 3.8 of 5 at the 70th national percentile. Tornado is the leading peril, rated Relatively High by FEMA at the 95th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a coal plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Woodbury County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | 95th | 4.8 of 5 | 0.71 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 93rd | 4.7 of 5 | 6.5 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 81st | 4.2 of 5 | 14.8 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 79th | 4.2 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 74th | 4.0 of 5 | 6.0 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 73rd | 3.9 of 5 | 41.9 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 73rd | 3.9 of 5 | 4.2 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 67th | 3.7 of 5 | 0.91 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 51st | 3.0 of 5 | 2.2 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 13th | 1.5 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Woodbury 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 |
|---|---|
| Hurricane | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Woodbury 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.