Home / North America / United States of America / Pleasant Valley Wind Farm

Pleasant Valley Wind Farm

Wind power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. Approximate location 43.805, -92.7697.

WindMinnesotaUnited States of America

Pleasant Valley Wind Farm is a 200 MW wind power station in Minnesota, United States of America. It is operated by Northern States Power Co - Minnesota. Based on reported annual generation of 773 GWh, it can supply roughly 221k homes. It ranks #2034 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 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).

200Source-backed capacity
773GWh reported / yr
220,828homes powered
2015commissioned (~11 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0059201.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPleasant Valley Wind Farm WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Minnesota WRI
Coordinates43.805, -92.7697 WRI
FuelWind WRI
MW installed capacity200 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerNorthern States Power Co - Minnesota WRI
Commissioned2015 WRI
GWh reported / yr773 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#2034 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#174 of 1139 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.95× · 68 MW median · 1139 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent220,828 calculated from reported generation
Climate6.7°C · HDD 4,326 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 34/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

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

In context: how this plant compares

At 200 MW, Pleasant Valley Wind Farm is well above the median wind plant in United States of America (68 MW). Wind turbines convert moving air into electricity; output is variable and site-dependent, and modern turbines deliver some of the lowest-cost new generation on many grids.

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

Reported generation trend

2015: 234 GWh20152016: 803 GWh20162017: 833 GWh20172018: 757 GWh20182019: 773 GWh2019833 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Northern States Power Co - Minnesota. 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 43.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.7°Cannual mean temp
4,326heating degree-days (base 18°C)
229cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
412 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -11 °CJF: -7 °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.

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

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.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
32.6°Cseasonal temperature swing
392 kmdistance to coast

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #174 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 104,873 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 43.805, -92.7697 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Pleasant Valley Wind Farm?

Pleasant Valley Wind Farm is a 200 MW source-record wind power plant in Minnesota, United States of America, commissioned in 2015.

How much electricity does Pleasant Valley Wind Farm generate?

Pleasant Valley Wind Farm generates about 773 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Pleasant Valley Wind Farm power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 220,828 homes.

Who operates Pleasant Valley Wind Farm?

Pleasant Valley Wind Farm is operated by Northern States Power Co - Minnesota.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.