WALTER SCOTT JR ENERGY CENTER
OperatingCoal power plant
- Capacity
- 1,779 MW
- Primary fuel
- Coal
- County
- Pottawattamie County
- Operator
- MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1978
- EIA plant ID
- 1082
- Generators
- 2
- Technology
- Conventional Steam Coal
- Net generation (2024)
- 6,385 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 44%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 41.1801, -95.8371
WALTER SCOTT JR ENERGY CENTER, a 1,779 MW Coal power plant in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Operated by MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO, commissioned 1978.
How WALTER SCOTT JR ENERGY CENTER compares
With 1,779 MW of capacity, WALTER SCOTT JR ENERGY CENTER is the largest of the 198 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Iowa and the largest of the 19 operating Coal plants in the state. It accounts for about 27% of Iowa's operating Coal capacity and 11% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 48th-largest of the 324 operating Coal plants in the database. Commissioned in 1978, 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 Pottawattamie County with one other operating plant, WALNUT WIND FARM.
EIA-860 lists 2 generators at the site with 1,648 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional steam coal technology. Net generation was 6,385 GWh in 2024 (a 44% capacity factor), down 3% from 2022. Its generators came online between 1978 and 2007.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 345 kV line, under 0.1 miles away. Another 6 operating power plants totaling 1,462 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is NORTH OMAHA (645 MW, Coal). Within 50 miles is one mapped data center, 1623 Farnam - Omaha in Omaha, about 7.5 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
WALTER SCOTT JR ENERGY CENTER is a 1,779 MW coal power plant in Pottawattamie County, IA, operated by MIDAMERICAN ENERGY CO, commissioned in 1978. Pottawattamie County carries critical modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 4.5 of 5 at the 86th national percentile. Tornado is the leading peril, rated Relatively High by FEMA at the 98th 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.
Pottawattamie County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Relatively High | 98th | 4.9 of 5 | 0.82 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Moderate | 95th | 4.8 of 5 | 7.8 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 88th | 4.5 of 5 | 6.6 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Moderate | 79th | 4.1 of 5 | 0.91 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 77th | 4.1 of 5 | 4.6 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 70th | 3.8 of 5 | 14.1 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 67th | 3.7 of 5 | 1.3 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 63rd | 3.5 of 5 | 45.6 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 53rd | 3.1 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 12th | 1.5 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Pottawattamie 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 Pottawattamie 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.