PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM
OperatingWind power plant
- Capacity
- 300 MW
- Primary fuel
- Wind
- County
- Mitchell County
- Operator
- PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM I, LLC
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2008
- EIA plant ID
- 56797
- Generators
- 1
- Technology
- Onshore Wind Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 863 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 33%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 43.4839, -92.6131
PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM, a 300 MW Wind power plant in Mitchell County, Iowa. Operated by PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM I, LLC, commissioned 2008.
How PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM compares
With 300 MW of capacity, PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM ranks 9th among the 198 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Iowa and 2nd of the 63 operating Wind plants in the state. It accounts for about 5.9% of Iowa's operating Wind capacity and 1.9% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 11th-largest of the 708 operating Wind plants in the database. Commissioned in 2008, it is newer than 70% of the 198 operating Iowa plants with a recorded commissioning year. It shares Mitchell County with 2 other operating plants, OSAGE and BUFFALO CENTER WIND LLC.
EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 300 MW of nameplate capacity, all onshore wind turbine technology. Net generation was 863 GWh in 2024 (a 33% capacity factor), down 16% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 345 kV line, about 0.1 miles away. Another 10 operating power plants totaling 1,018 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is PLEASANT VALLEY (468 MW, Natural Gas). Within 50 miles is one mapped data center, NP Rochester in Rochester, about 37.9 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
PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM is a 300 MW wind power plant in Mitchell County, IA, operated by PIONEER PRAIRIE WIND FARM I, LLC, commissioned in 2008. Mitchell 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 95th 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.
Mitchell County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat wave | Very Low | 95th | 4.8 of 5 | 3.8 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 93rd | 4.7 of 5 | 0.38 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Low | 90th | 4.6 of 5 | 1.1 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 89th | 4.6 of 5 | 3.8 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 66th | 3.6 of 5 | 4.5 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 64th | 3.5 of 5 | 18.5 |
| Lightning | Very Low | 53rd | 3.1 of 5 | 39.7 |
| Ice storm | Very Low | 36th | 2.4 of 5 | 0.69 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 22nd | 1.9 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 7th | 1.3 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Mitchell 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 "No Rating" for this county |
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Mitchell 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.