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Pleasant Valley (MN)

Gas power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. Approximate location 43.7994, -92.6829.

GasMinnesotaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Pleasant Valley (MN) is a 468 MW gas power station in Minnesota, United States of America. It is operated by Great River Energy. Based on reported annual generation of 40 GWh, it can supply roughly 11,514 homes. It ranks #759 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. Its measured emissions of 68,984 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 16,080 cars driven for a year. 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).

468MW installed capacity
40GWh reported / yr
11,514homes powered
68,984t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
2001commissioned (~25 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0007843.

68,984 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

16,080passenger cars driven for a year
8,996homes' yearly energy use
1,149,733tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 164 GWh20132014: 74 GWh20142015: 66 GWh20152016: 130 GWh20162017: 48 GWh20172018: 95 GWh20182019: 40 GWh2019164 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Great River Energy. All plants by this company →

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 43.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.7°Cannual mean temp
4,325heating degree-days (base 18°C)
225cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
404 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -11 °CJF: -8 °CFM: -1 °CMA: 7 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 9 °CON: 0 °CND: -8 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 76% 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: 88/100 — 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.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #452 largest gas power plant of 1818 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1818 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 546,436 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 43.7994, -92.6829 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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