Wheaton

Gas power plant in Wisconsin, United States of America. Approximate location 44.8854, -91.5158.

GasWisconsinUnited States of America

Wheaton is a 247 MW gas power station in Wisconsin, United States of America. It is operated by Northern States Power Co - Minnesota. Based on reported annual generation of 15 GWh, it can supply roughly 4,400 homes. It ranks #1100 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. 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).

247MW installed capacity
15GWh reported / yr
4,400homes powered
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0004014.

~6,160 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1,436passenger cars driven for a year
803homes' yearly energy use
102,667tree 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

2013: 21 GWh20132014: 12 GWh20142015: 19 GWh20152016: 13 GWh20162017: 74 GWh20172018: 23 GWh20182019: 15 GWh201974 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 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 44.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.7°Cannual mean temp
4,330heating degree-days (base 18°C)
223cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
288 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -11 °CJF: -8 °CFM: -1 °CMA: 7 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 15 °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: 89/100 — 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 #638 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 44.8854, -91.5158 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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