Pathfinder nuclear power plant — United States of America
Retired nuclear power-station site in South Dakota, United States of America. Approximate location 43.6036, -96.6375.
NuclearSouth DakotaUnited States of AmericaPrototypeboiling water reactorRetired
Pathfinder nuclear power plant is a retired nuclear power station in South Dakota, United States of America. Its current lifecycle status is “Retired” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. It ranks #3369 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 17.4% 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 GEM_nuc_pathfinder_unite.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Source of the capacity and fuel values:
capacity: GEM Global Nuclear Power Tracker September 2025 unit-status sum (retired); fuel: GEM GNPT
In context: how this plant compares
At 63 MW, Pathfinder nuclear power plant is below the median nuclear plant in United States of America (1,350 MW). Technically it is described as boiling water reactor. Its lifecycle status is Retired; it no longer generates electricity. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
How it compares & nearby plants
The #162 largest nuclear power plant of 176 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 176 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 270,415 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Angus Anson · Gas · 405.7 MW · South Dakota
- Minwind 3-9 · Wind · 11.5 MW · South Dakota
- Laverne Battery · Storage · 1.1 MW · South Dakota
- Minwind · Wind · 3.8 MW · Minnesota
- Luverne · Oil · 3.5 MW · Minnesota
- Prairie Rose Wind Farm · Wind · 200 MW · Minnesota
Location
Coordinates 43.6036, -96.6375 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Pathfinder nuclear power plant?
Pathfinder nuclear power plant was a nuclear-fired power station in South Dakota, United States of America and was retired.