Spiritwood Station

Gas power plant in North Dakota, United States of America. Approximate location 46.9264, -98.4997.

GasNorth DakotaUnited States of America

Spiritwood Station is a 106 MW gas power station in North Dakota, United States of America. It is operated by Great River Energy. Based on reported annual generation of 181 GWh, it can supply roughly 51,800 homes. It ranks #1851 of 9,833 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).

106MW installed capacity
181GWh reported / yr
51,800homes powered
2014commissioned (~12 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0056786.

~72,520 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

16,904passenger cars driven for a year
9,457homes' yearly energy use
1,208,667tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical gas emission factor (~400 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2014: 32 GWh20142015: 209 GWh20152016: 229 GWh20162017: 212 GWh20172018: 206 GWh20182019: 181 GWh2019229 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 46.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

4.8°Cannual mean temp
4,932heating degree-days (base 18°C)
155cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
446 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -14 °CJF: -10 °CFM: -3 °CMA: 5 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 7 °CON: -3 °CND: -11 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 101% 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: 94/100 — 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 #861 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 46.9264, -98.4997 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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