Heskett Station — United States of America

Heskett Station is a 176 MW gas power station in North Dakota, United States of America. It is operated by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 198k homes (estimated). It ranks #2102 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2014, it is around 12 years old — relatively modern. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% 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 GOGPT_heskett_united.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 176 MW, Heskett Station is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121.2 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of United States of America gas capacity

less than 0.1% of 789,950 MW across 2,165 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1,587 of 1,973 dated gas plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in United States of America

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 46.9°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 88% 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #955 largest gas power plant of 2165 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 2165 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 789,950 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• R M Heskett · Coal · 203 MW · North Dakota
• Tesoro Mandan Cogeneration Plant · Gas · 7.5 MW · North Dakota
• Oliver Wind III LLC · Wind · 99.3 MW · North Dakota
• FPL Energy Burleigh County Wind · Wind · 49.5 MW · North Dakota
• Baldwin Wind LLC · Wind · 102.4 MW · North Dakota
• Wilton Wind II LLC · Wind · 49.5 MW · North Dakota

Location

Coordinates 46.866825, -100.883781 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions