Thief River Falls

Oil power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. Approximate location 48.1143, -96.1792.

OilMinnesotaUnited States of America

Thief River Falls is a 6 MW oil power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. It is operated by City of Thief River Falls. Based on reported annual generation of 2 GWh, it can supply roughly 542 homes. It ranks #5248 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1959, it is around 67 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

6MW installed capacity
2GWh reported / yr
542homes powered
1959commissioned (~67 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0002014.

~1,425 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

332passenger cars driven for a year
186homes' yearly energy use
23,750tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical oil emission factor (~750 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

2013: 1 GWh20132014: 2 GWh20142015: 3 GWh20152016: 3 GWh20162017: 4 GWh20172018: 1 GWh20182019: 2 GWh20194 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by City of Thief River Falls.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 48.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

3.8°Cannual mean temp
5,245heating degree-days (base 18°C)
94cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
343 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -16 °CJF: -12 °CFM: -5 °CMA: 5 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 19 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 6 °CON: -4 °CND: -12 °CD20 °C

Heating degree-days here run 113% 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: 95/100 — 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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #454 largest oil power plant of 876 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 876 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 37,143 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 48.1143, -96.1792 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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