LAKE BENTON I
OperatingWind power plant
- Capacity
- 107 MW
- Primary fuel
- Wind
- County
- Lincoln County
- Operator
- AES WIND GENERATION INC
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1998
- EIA plant ID
- 55208
- Generators
- 1
- Technology
- Onshore Wind Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 244 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 26%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 44.2934, -96.3714
LAKE BENTON I, a 107 MW Wind power plant in Lincoln County, Minnesota. Operated by AES WIND GENERATION INC, commissioned 1998.
How LAKE BENTON I compares
With 107 MW of capacity, LAKE BENTON I ranks 27th among the 215 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Minnesota and 7th of the 78 operating Wind plants in the state. It accounts for about 4.1% of Minnesota's operating Wind capacity and 0.7% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 206th-largest of the 708 operating Wind plants in the database. Commissioned in 1998, it is older than 56% of the 200 operating Minnesota plants with a recorded commissioning year. It shares Lincoln County with 19 other operating plants, including COMMUNITY WIND NORTH and SHAOKATAN HILLS.
EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 107 MW of nameplate capacity, all onshore wind turbine technology. Net generation was 244 GWh in 2024 (a 26% capacity factor), down 2% from 2022.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 115 kV line, about 1.7 miles away. Another 37 operating power plants totaling 1,075 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is DEER CREEK STATION (324 MW).
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
LAKE BENTON I is a 107 MW wind power plant in Lincoln County, MN, operated by AES WIND GENERATION INC, commissioned in 1998. Lincoln County carries elevated modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 2.8 of 5 at the 45th national percentile. Winter weather is the leading peril, rated Relatively Moderate by FEMA at the 96th 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.
Lincoln County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 96th | 4.8 of 5 | 21.4 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 92nd | 4.7 of 5 | 3.2 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 81st | 4.3 of 5 | 3.3 |
| Riverine flooding | Very Low | 81st | 4.2 of 5 | 1.0 |
| Ice storm | Relatively Low | 80th | 4.2 of 5 | 0.74 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 72nd | 3.9 of 5 | 0.36 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 51st | 3.1 of 5 | 4.8 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 40th | 2.6 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Lightning | Very Low | 28th | 2.1 of 5 | 35.6 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 9th | 1.3 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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.