COYOTE

Operating

Coal power plant

Capacity: 450 MW
Primary fuel: Coal
County: Mercer County
Operator: OTTER TAIL POWER CO
Status: Operating
Commissioned: 1981
EIA plant ID: 8222
Generators: 1
Technology: Conventional Steam Coal
Net generation (2024): 2,208 GWh
Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate): 56%
Data vintage: EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
Coordinates: 47.2216, -101.8156

COYOTE, a 450 MW Coal power plant in Mercer County, North Dakota. Operated by OTTER TAIL POWER CO, commissioned 1981.

How COYOTE compares

With 450 MW of capacity, COYOTE ranks 6th among the 40 operating power plants Bywatts maps in North Dakota and 5th of the 8 operating Coal plants in the state. It accounts for about 11% of North Dakota's operating Coal capacity and 7.0% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 168th-largest of the 324 operating Coal plants in the database. Commissioned in 1981, it is older than 80% of the 40 operating North Dakota plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, OTTER TAIL POWER CO, runs 5 operating plants in North Dakota totaling 598 MW. It shares Mercer County with 3 other operating plants, including ANTELOPE VALLEY and LELAND OLDS.

EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 450 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional steam coal technology. Net generation was 2,208 GWh in 2024 (a 56% capacity factor), down 3% from 2022.

Grid neighborhood

The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 345 kV line, under 0.1 miles away. Another 5 operating power plants totaling 1,815 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is ANTELOPE VALLEY (870 MW, Coal).

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

COYOTE is a 450 MW coal power plant in Mercer County, ND, operated by OTTER TAIL POWER CO, commissioned in 1981. Mercer County carries critical modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 4.8 of 5 at the 95th national percentile. Winter weather is the leading peril, rated Relatively Moderate 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.

4.8 of 5Modeled catastrophe exposure

CriticalExposure band

Winter weatherLeading peril

Very LowFEMA county risk rating

Mercer County hazard ratings

Peril	FEMA rating	National percentile	Peril score	Events per year
Winter weather	Relatively Moderate	98th	4.9 of 5	18.4
Hail	Relatively Moderate	96th	4.8 of 5	2.5
Heat wave	Very Low	90th	4.6 of 5	1.6
Ice storm	Relatively Moderate	87th	4.5 of 5	0.64
Wildfire	Very Low	66th	3.6 of 5	<0.01
Strong wind	Relatively Low	64th	3.6 of 5	1.5
Tornado	Relatively Low	48th	2.9 of 5	0.32
Riverine flooding	Very Low	40th	2.6 of 5	0.43
Lightning	Very Low	36th	2.5 of 5	29.7
Earthquake	Very Low	6th	1.3 of 5	<0.01

Perils not assessed in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.