WHELAN ENERGY CENTER
OperatingCoal power plant
- Capacity
- 324 MW
- Primary fuel
- Coal
- County
- Adams County
- Operator
- CITY OF HASTINGS - (NE)
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1981
- EIA plant ID
- 60
- Generators
- 2
- Technology
- Conventional Steam Coal
- Net generation (2024)
- 1,177 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 41%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 40.5806, -98.3128
WHELAN ENERGY CENTER, a 324 MW Coal power plant in Adams County, Nebraska. Operated by CITY OF HASTINGS - (NE), commissioned 1981.
How WHELAN ENERGY CENTER compares
With 324 MW of capacity, WHELAN ENERGY CENTER ranks 7th among the 86 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Nebraska and 4th of the 8 operating Coal plants in the state. It accounts for about 7.7% of Nebraska's operating Coal capacity and 3.9% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 188th-largest of the 324 operating Coal plants in the database. Commissioned in 1981, it is newer than 68% of the 85 operating Nebraska plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, CITY OF HASTINGS - (NE), runs 3 operating plants in Nebraska totaling 385 MW. It shares Adams County with 2 other operating plants, NORTH DENVER and DON HENRY.
EIA-860 lists 2 generators at the site with 324 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional steam coal technology. Net generation was 1,177 GWh in 2024 (a 41% capacity factor), down 25% from 2022. Its generators came online between 1981 and 2011.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 115 kV line, under 0.1 miles away. Another 5 operating power plants totaling 413 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is C W BURDICK (241 MW, Natural Gas).
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
WHELAN ENERGY CENTER is a 324 MW coal power plant in Adams County, NE, operated by CITY OF HASTINGS - (NE), commissioned in 1981. Adams County carries critical modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 5.0 of 5 at the 99th national percentile. Lightning is the leading peril, rated Relatively High by FEMA at the 100th 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.
Adams County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Relatively High | 100th | 5.0 of 5 | 43.5 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 100th | 5.0 of 5 | 7.3 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 98th | 4.9 of 5 | 0.57 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 96th | 4.8 of 5 | 4.3 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 91st | 4.6 of 5 | 5.3 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 90th | 4.6 of 5 | 0.52 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 73rd | 3.9 of 5 | 13.8 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 43rd | 2.7 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 20th | 1.8 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Riverine flooding | Very Low | 11th | 1.4 of 5 | 0.82 |
Perils not assessed in Adams 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 Adams 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.