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Westside Energy Station

Gas power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. Approximate location 44.039, -92.5519.

GasMinnesotaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Westside Energy Station is a 46 MW gas power plant in Minnesota, United States of America. It is operated by Rochester Public Utilities. Based on reported annual generation of 44 GWh, it can supply roughly 12,457 homes. It ranks #2865 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2018, it is around 8 years old — recently built. Its measured emissions of 67,568 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 15,750 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).

46MW installed capacity
44GWh reported / yr
12,457homes powered
67,568t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2018commissioned (~8 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0060564.

67,568 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

15,750passenger cars driven for a year
8,812homes' yearly energy use
1,126,133tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2018: 60 GWh20182019: 44 GWh201960 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Rochester Public Utilities. 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 44.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.7°Cannual mean temp
4,312heating degree-days (base 18°C)
225cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
370 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 75% 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 #1116 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 44.039, -92.5519 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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