Power Plants in North Dakota
Bywatts lists 44 power plants in North Dakota.
Browse North Dakota by fuel: Oil (5) · Coal (10) · Wind (21)
North Dakota's power sector in numbers
Bywatts maps 40 operating power plants with 6.5 GW of nameplate capacity in North Dakota. Coal leads with 63% of that capacity across 8 plants, followed by Wind (27%) and Hydro (9%). The inventory also includes 4 plants (191 MW) that EIA-860 lists as retired, the largest being STANTON (191 MW, retired 2017).
The largest operating plants are COAL CREEK (1,212 MW, Coal, GREAT RIVER ENERGY), ANTELOPE VALLEY (870 MW, Coal, BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE) and MILTON R YOUNG (734 MW, Coal, MINNKOTA POWER COOP, INC).
Of the 40 operating plants with a recorded commissioning year, 29 came online in 2000 or later and 10 in 2010 or later; the busiest decade for new capacity was the 1970s (2.0 GW).
The largest operators by operating capacity are BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE (6 plants, 1.6 GW), GREAT RIVER ENERGY (2 plants, 1.2 GW) and MINNKOTA POWER COOP, INC (1 plant, 734 MW).
Retail electricity sales in North Dakota reached 30.3 TWh in 2025, up 67.4% over ten years and up 1.9% year on year; residential customers took 17.0% of it. The average retail price across all sectors was 8.20 cents per kWh, down 6.3% since 2015.
The database also maps 16 named substations (none of the 9 with a recorded voltage is rated 345 kV or above), no data centers, 11 solar installers and 6 solar companies in North Dakota.
Operating capacity by fuel
| Fuel | Plants | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | 8 | 4.1 GW | 63% |
| Wind | 21 | 1.7 GW | 27% |
| Hydro | 1 | 614 MW | 9% |
| Oil | 4 | 56 MW | 1% |
| Biomass | 1 | 10 MW | <1% |
| Other | 1 | 8 MW | <1% |
| Not recorded | 4 | 5 MW | <1% |
Retail electricity sales
| Year | Sales (TWh) | Avg. price (cents/kWh) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 21.8 | 8.53 |
| 2021 | 22.9 | 8.65 |
| 2022 | 25.4 | 8.42 |
| 2023 | 28.2 | 8.03 |
| 2024 | 29.8 | 7.93 |
| 2025 | 30.3 | 8.20 |
Sources: HIFLD power-plant inventory (capacity, fuel, operator), EIA-860 (commissioning year, retirements, operable capacity), EIA retail sales and revenue series through January 2026. Counts are of plants Bywatts lists, not every generator in the state.
Weather peril risk for North Dakota projects
53 North Dakota counties carry a FEMA National Risk Index hazard profile. Winter weather is the leading peril in 44 of them, and Burleigh County ranks highest for modeled catastrophe exposure at 5.0 of 5.
North Dakota counties ranked by modeled catastrophe exposure
| County | Exposure score | Band | Leading peril | FEMA rating | Insurability signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burleigh County | 5.0 of 5 | Critical | Hail | Relatively High | Difficult |
| Adams County | 5.0 of 5 | Critical | Hail | Relatively Moderate | Difficult |
| Morton County | 5.0 of 5 | Critical | Hail | Relatively High | Difficult |
| Dunn County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | Difficult |
| Nelson County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | Difficult |
| Kidder County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Winter weather | Relatively Low | Difficult |
| Griggs County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | Difficult |
| Grant County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | Difficult |
| Oliver County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Winter weather | Relatively Low | Difficult |
| Sioux County | 4.9 of 5 | Critical | Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | Difficult |
What this means for insurance placement in North Dakota
45 of 53 assessed North Dakota counties flag as Constrained or Difficult on the modeled insurability signal, which is where percentage hail and named windstorm deductibles, and any sublimit discussion, tend to start. The signal is a screening output, not a carrier decision.
Score a North Dakota county for hail, wind and flood exposure in the weather risk calculator
Data source and vintage
- FEMA rating, national percentile and events per year are reported by the FEMA National Risk Index for the county.
- Exposure score is derived by Bywatts as the national percentile of the county's modeled solar loss rate, so a 5 is the worst national quintile. Band and insurability signal are Bywatts screening outputs, not carrier decisions.
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. The solar vulnerability layer that turns FEMA building loss into modeled solar loss was derived by Bywatts and revised on physical reasoning. It has not been reviewed by a practising underwriter.
All 44 power plants in North Dakota
| Plant | Fuel | Capacity (MW) | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| COAL CREEK | Coal | 1,212 | GREAT RIVER ENERGY |
| ANTELOPE VALLEY | Coal | 870 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE |
| MILTON R YOUNG | Coal | 734 | MINNKOTA POWER COOP, INC |
| LELAND OLDS | Coal | 656 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE |
| GARRISON RESERVOIR AND DAM | Hydro | 614 | USACE-MISSOURI RIVER DISTRICT |
| COYOTE | Coal | 450 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| STANTON Retired 2017 | Coal | 191 | GREAT RIVER ENERGY |
| TATANKA WIND POWER LLC | Wind | 180 | ACCIONA WIND ENERGY USA LLC |
| LANGDON WIND LLC | Wind | 159 | FPL ENERGY LANGDON WIND LLC |
| RUGBY WIND POWER PROJECT | Wind | 149 | IBERDROLA RENEWABLES INC |
| FPL ENERGY ASHTABULA WIND LLC | Wind | 149 | FPL ENERGY ASHTABULA WIND LLC |
| ASHTABULA WIND II LLC | Wind | 120 | ASHTABULA WIND II LLC |
| PRAIRIE WINDS ND1 | Wind | 116 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE |
| R M HESKETT | Coal | 115 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| BISON 2 WIND ENERGY CENTER | Wind | 105 | MINNESOTA POWER INC |
| BISON 3 WIND ENERGY CENTER | Wind | 105 | MINNESOTA POWER INC |
| BALDWIN WIND LLC | Wind | 102 | BALDWIN WIND LLC |
| BISON I WIND ENERGY CENTER | Wind | 80 | MINNESOTA POWER INC |
| ASHTABULA WIND III LLC | Wind | 62 | ASHTABULA WIND III LLC |
| FPL ENERGY NORTH DAKOTA WIND I/II | Wind | 62 | FPL ENERGY NORTH DAKOTA WIND LLC |
| FPL ENERGY OLIVER WIND I LLC | Wind | 51 | FPL ENERGY OLIVER COUNTY WIND |
| FPL ENERGY BURLEIGH COUNTY WIND | Wind | 50 | FPL ENERGY BURLEIGH COUNTY WIND LLC |
| LUVERNE WIND FARM | Wind | 50 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| WILTON WIND II LLC | Wind | 50 | WILTON WIND II LLC |
| JAMESTOWN | Oil | 48 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| ASHTABULA WIND ENERGY CENTER | Wind | 48 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| FPL ENERGY OLIVER WIND II LLC | Wind | 48 | FPL ENERGY OLIVER COUNTY WIND II LLC |
| CEDAR HILLS | Wind | 20 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR HILLSBORO | Coal | 13 | AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR CO |
| VELVA WINDFARM LLC | Wind | 12 | ACCIONA WIND ENERGY USA LLC |
| ENDERLIN | Biomass | 10 | ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO |
| MANDAN REFINERY | Other | 8 | TESORO REFINING AND MARKETING CO LLC |
| MINOT WIND PROJECT | Wind | 7 | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE |
| AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR DRAYTON | Coal | 6 | AMERICAN CRYSTAL SUGAR CO |
| GLEN ULLIN STATION 6 | · | 5 | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |
| HILLSBORO | Oil | 4 | CITY OF HILLSBORO - (ND) |
| KINDRED SCHOOL | Oil | 2 | OTTER TAIL POWER CO |
| DAKOTA MAGIC | Oil | 2 | DAKOTA MAGIC CASINO |
| GRAND FORKS Retired 2012 | Oil | · | MINNKOTA POWER COOP, INC |
| LONESOME CREEK STATION | · | · | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE |
| PIONEER GENERATING STATION | · | · | BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE |
| SPIRITWOOD STATION | · | · | GREAT RIVER ENERGY |
| WALHALLA Retired 2012 | Coal | · | ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO |
| WILLISTON Retired 2012 | Natural Gas | · | MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO |