Prairie River
Itasca County, Minnesota · EIA plant ID 378 · Operator: ALLETE, Inc.
Nameplate1MWSummer 1 MW
Generators2in service
Net generation2GWh12 mo to Dec 2025
Capacity factor26%hydro units, summer MW
Heat rate—thermal plants only
First online1920
Monthly net generation
EIA-923, all units at the plant. Net of station use; storage can go negative.
FinalPreliminary
Capacity factor by year
Net MWh ÷ (summer MW × hours), hydro units. Each year uses that year's EIA-860 ratings; the hollow dot is the latest 12 months.
Heat rate by year
Electric fuel MMBtu × 1000 ÷ net MWh (Btu/kWh, HHV), fossil units only; CT + CA counted as one combined-cycle block.
Heat rate applies to fuel-burning (thermal) units only.
Annual data table
| Year | Net GWh | Capacity factor | Heat rate (Btu/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1.6 | 31.1% | — |
| 2002 | 2.2 | 31.1% | — |
| 2003 | 1.5 | 24.0% | — |
| 2004 | 2.5 | 41.1% | — |
| 2005 | 1.8 | 30.0% | — |
| 2006 | 0.8 | 13.4% | — |
| 2013 | 1.3 | 24.6% | — |
| 2014 | 2.5 | 48.0% | — |
| 2015 | 3 | 56.5% | — |
| 2016 | 4.4 | 70.9% | — |
| 2017 | 4.1 | 66.1% | — |
| 2018 | 3.2 | 52.8% | — |
| 2019 | 3.2 | 52.6% | — |
| 2020 | 2.3 | 37.7% | — |
| 2021 | 1.4 | 22.6% | — |
| 2022 | 2.5 | 41.4% | — |
| 2023 | 1.6 | 26.2% | — |
| 2024 | 1.8 | 29.2% | — |
| 2025 | 1.6 | 26.3% | — |
Generators
EIA-860 (annual) with EIA-860M updates through Sep 2026. EIA-923 reports generation by plant, prime mover and fuel, not by unit, so unit-level output isn't shown.
| Gen ID | Technology | Prime mover | Nameplate MW | Summer MW | Online | Status | Planned retirement | OEM / model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | HY | 0.7 | 0.5 | Apr 1920 | Operating | — | coming soon |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | HY | 0.3 | 0.2 | Apr 1920 | Operating | — | coming soon |
Owner / operator
Operator: ALLETE, Inc.. Ownership shares by in-service nameplate MW (EIA-860 Schedule 4; units not listed there are wholly owned by the operator).
| ALLETE, Inc. | 100.0% | 1 MW |
Nearby plants
Within 80 km.
| Rapids Energy Center | 28 MW | 6.5 km |
| USS Itasca Clean Energy Solar LLC | 3 MW | 8.7 km |
| Clay Boswell | 923 MW | 12 km |
| Hibbing | 36 MW | 45.3 km |
| Taconite Ridge 1 Wind Energy Center | 25 MW | 75.3 km |
| Virginia | retired | 76.6 km |