Wind power plant in South Dakota, United States of America. Approximate location 43.8864, -98.7875.
WindSouth DakotaUnited States of America
Prairie Winds SD1 is a 162 MW wind power station in South Dakota, United States of America. It is operated by Basin Electric Power Coop. Based on reported annual generation of 397 GWh, it can supply roughly 113,314 homes. It ranks #1454 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2011, it is around 15 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).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0056608.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Basin Electric Power Coop. All plants by this company →
This wind plant converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity through turbine rotors. It sits in a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.9°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 60% 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: 83/100 — 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.
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.
The #238 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 104,477 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 43.8864, -98.7875 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
