Power plants in Iowa

Iowa has 306 power plants of 1 MW or more in the 2025 EIA-860 data, with 24.8 GW of nameplate capacity, the 19th-largest total among the 50 states and DC. Wind accounts for 54% of that capacity. The biggest single site is Walter Scott Jr Energy Center at 1,648 MW. Units that came online from 2020 to 2025 add 4,285 MW, led by wind at 80%. Units retired since 2016 at plants still operating total 605 MW, most of it coal.

Wind13,411 MW54%
Coal5,228 MW21%
Natural gas4,350 MW18%
Oil and petroleum906 MW3.6%
Solar701 MW2.8%
Hydroelectric184 MW0.7%
Biomass and waste23.4 MW0.1%
Battery storage10.7 MW0.0%
Other sources4 MW0.0%

What is running, by the decade it came online

CoalNatural gasOil and petroleumHydroelectricWindSolarBattery storageBiomass and wasteOther sources

Columns above the line show capacity still operating in 2025, stacked by fuel. Below the line: capacity retired in each decade at plants that still operate.

The 25 largest plants

Rank	Plant	Runs on	Capacity	First unit	Operator
1	Walter Scott Jr Energy Center	Coal	1,648 MW	1978	MidAmerican Energy Co
2	Louisa	Coal	812 MW	1983	MidAmerican Energy Co
3	Ottumwa	Coal	726 MW	1981	Interstate Power and Light Co
4	Marshalltown Generating Station	Natural gas	709 MW	2017	Interstate Power and Light Co
5	George Neal South	Coal	696 MW	1979	MidAmerican Energy Co
6	Emery Station	Natural gas	603 MW	2004	Interstate Power and Light Co
7	George Neal North	Coal	584 MW	1975	MidAmerican Energy Co
8	Greater Des Moines	Natural gas	576 MW	2003	MidAmerican Energy Co
9	Highland Wind Project (IA)	Wind	502 MW	2015	MidAmerican Energy Co
10	Orient Wind Farm	Wind	501 MW	2018	MidAmerican Energy Co
11	Rolling Hills Wind Farm	Wind	484 MW	2011	MidAmerican Energy Co
12	Beaver Creek Wind	Wind	340 MW	2017	MidAmerican Energy Co
13	North English	Wind	340 MW	2018	MidAmerican Energy Co
14	Palo Alto Wind Farm	Wind	340 MW	2020	MidAmerican Energy Co
15	Arbor Hill Wind Farm	Wind	310 MW	2018	MidAmerican Energy Co
16	Ida Grove Wind	Wind	301 MW	2016	MidAmerican Energy Co
17	Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm	Wind	300 MW	2008	Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm I, LLC
18	Upland Prairie	Wind	299 MW	2019	Interstate Power and Light Co
19	Archer Daniels Midland Cedar Rapids	Coal	295 MW	1988	Archer Daniels Midland Co
20	Burlington (IA)	Natural gas	291 MW	1968	Interstate Power and Light Co
21	Pomeroy Wind Farm	Wind	286 MW	2007	MidAmerican Energy Co
22	Muscatine Plant #1	Coal	276 MW	1958	Board of Water Electric & Communications
23	Lundgren Wind Project	Wind	271 MW	2014	MidAmerican Energy Co
24	Electrifarm	Natural gas	264 MW	1975	MidAmerican Energy Co
25	Southern Hills Wind Farm	Wind	254 MW	2021	MidAmerican Energy Co

All 306 plants in the finder

Largest plant for each main fuel

Main fuel	Plants	Capacity	Largest plant	Its capacity
Wind	123	13.4 GW	Highland Wind Project (IA)	502 MW
Coal	8	5,216 MW	Walter Scott Jr Energy Center	1,648 MW
Natural gas	38	4,401 MW	Marshalltown Generating Station	709 MW
Oil and petroleum	88	872 MW	Lime Creek	90.2 MW
Solar	34	696 MW	Pleasant Creek Unit 2	150 MW
Hydroelectric	4	184 MW	Keokuk	125 MW
Biomass and waste	6	23.4 MW	Metro Methane Recovery Facility	11.2 MW
Battery storage	4	10.4 MW	Deer Run Battery	5 MW
Other sources	1	4 MW	POET Biorefining-Hanlontown, LLC	4 MW

Balancing areas

Area	Plants	Capacity
MISO (Midcontinent)	285	24.2 GW
Southwest Power Pool	18	539 MW
Associated Electric Cooperative	3	34 MW

Biggest operators here

Operator	Plants	Capacity
MidAmerican Energy Co	56	13.1 GW
Interstate Power and Light Co	29	4,537 MW
Archer Daniels Midland Co	3	482 MW
Avangrid Power LLC	5	402 MW
Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm I, LLC	1	300 MW
Board of Water Electric & Communications	1	276 MW
Western Minnesota Mun Pwr Agny	2	237 MW
Great Pathfinder Wind	1	224 MW
EDF Renewable Asset Holdings, Inc.	1	212 MW
Deriva Energy	1	207 MW