Bison I Wind Energy Center

Bison I Wind Energy Center is a 82 MW wind power plant in North Dakota, United States of America. It is operated by ALLETE Inc.. Based on reported annual generation of 244 GWh, it can supply roughly 69,828 homes. It ranks #2185 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2011, it is around 15 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, wind supplies about 10.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0057038.

Reported generation trend

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by ALLETE Inc.. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This wind plant converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity through turbine rotors. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 47.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 92% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 92/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #507 largest wind power plant of 1139 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1139 wind power plants in this dataset, together about 104,477 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Bison 2 Wind Energy Center · Wind · 105 MW · North Dakota
• Bison 3 Wind Energy Center · Wind · 105 MW · North Dakota
• Bison 4 Wind Energy Center · Wind · 205 MW · North Dakota
• Glen Ullin Energy Center · Wind · 107 MW · North Dakota
• Glen Ullin Station 6 · Cogeneration · 5 MW · North Dakota
• Milton R Young · Coal · 734 MW · North Dakota

Location

Coordinates 46.98, -101.5547 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.