Waste power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. Approximate location 44.9833, -93.2804.
WasteMinnesotaUnited States of America
Covanta Hennepin Energy is a 40 MW waste power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. It is operated by Covanta Energy Co. Based on reported annual generation of 195 GWh, it can supply roughly 56k homes. It ranks #4026 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1989, it is around 37 years old — long-established. In context, the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0010013.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 40 MW, Covanta Hennepin Energy is well above the median waste plant in United States of America (7 MW). Waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste to generate electricity and heat, cutting landfill volume while recovering energy from residual waste.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Covanta Energy Co.
This waste plant recovers energy by combusting municipal or industrial waste. It sits in a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 45.0°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 68% 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: 86/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
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.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #84 largest waste power plant of 551 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 551 waste power plants in this dataset, together about 10,154 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 44.9833, -93.2804 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Covanta Hennepin Energy is a 40 MW source-record waste power plant in Minnesota, United States of America, commissioned in 1989.
Covanta Hennepin Energy generates about 195 GWh of electricity per year.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 55,800 homes.
Covanta Hennepin Energy is operated by Covanta Energy Co.
