Coal Creek
Coal Creek is a coal plant in McLean County, North Dakota, operated by Rainbow Energy Center. No other power plant in North Dakota has more nameplate capacity; the state has 62 in all. Its biggest unit, rated at 605 MW, is the largest single generator in North Dakota.
Nameplate capacity, 2025
1,216 MW
1,148 MW net summer capacity
4 operable units
- Coal steam1,210 MW100%
- Oil-fired6 MW0.5%
Unit by unit, 1979 to 2025
operating in 2025retiredbar height follows unit size
Unit 1 Coal steam, 605 MW, 1979
Unit 3 Oil-fired, 2 MW, 1979–2016
Unit 2 Coal steam, 605 MW, 1980
Unit 4 Oil-fired, 3 MW, 2016
Unit 5 Oil-fired, 3 MW, 2016
Among North Dakota’s plants
Largest plants in the state by nameplate capacity, with the plants ranked next to this one.
- 1Coal Creekthis plant
- 2Antelope Valley954 MW
- 3Pioneer Generation Station897 MW
Other rankings
- All US power plants
- 218th of 14,286
- US coal plants
- 67th of 195
- Coal plants in North Dakota
- 1st of 7
- Plants in the MISO (Midcontinent) balancing area
- 32nd of 2,383
Operable units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coal steam | 605 MW | 568 MW | 1979 | Operating |
| 2 | Coal steam | 605 MW | 574 MW | 1980 | Operating |
| 5 | Oil-fired | 3 MW | 3 MW | 2016 | Standby |
| 4 | Oil-fired | 3 MW | 3 MW | 2016 | Standby |
Retired units
Retired capacity here totals 2 MW, mostly oil-fired units.
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | In service |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Oil-fired | 2 MW | 1979–2016 |
Grid and site
- Balancing area
- MISO (Midcontinent)
- Reliability region
- Midwest Reliability Organization
- Highest grid connection voltage
- 410 kV
- Water source
- Missouri River
- Nearest town on record
- Underwood
- Operator type
- Utility
- Coordinates
- 47.378°N, 101.157°W
Closest plants
| Plant | Runs on | Capacity | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leland Olds | Coal | 656 MW | 10.2 mi southwest |
| Garrison | Hydroelectric | 583 MW | 14.4 mi northwest |
| FPL Energy Oliver Wind I LLC | Wind | 50.6 MW | 15.7 mi south |
| FPL Energy Oliver Wind II LLC | Wind | 48 MW | 15.7 mi south |
| Milton R Young | Coal | 734 MW | 21.7 mi south |
| FPL Energy Burleigh County Wind | Wind | 49.5 MW | 26.8 mi southeast |
| Wilton Wind II LLC | Wind | 49.5 MW | 27.2 mi southeast |
| Oliver Wind IV | Wind | 199 MW | 27.6 mi southwest |