# Coal Creek

MISO asset profile · https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/coal-creek

Rainbow Energy Center, LLC - McLean County - MISO

Coal Creek Station is a two-unit conventional steam-coal plant in McLean County, North Dakota, near Underwood and Washburn. Unit 1 began operating in June 1979 and Unit 2 in September 1980, each with 604.8 MW nameplate capacity. The plant burns beneficiated North Dakota lignite supplied by the adjacent Falkirk Mining Company and transmits approximately 1,151 MW of power via the Nexus Line 410 kV HVDC system to Minnesota. After Great River Energy announced a planned 2022 closure, Rainbow Energy Center acquired the plant on May 1, 2022, preserving its operation as North Dakota's largest coal-fired generating station. The plant also serves approximately 205 MW of interruptible on-site load. A proposed carbon-capture and storage project is under development but not yet commissioned.

## Metrics

- **Nameplate capacity:** 1209.6 MW — Canonical EIA plant baseline.
- **Registry anchor:** Plant 6030 — plant-6030

## Facts

- **Technology:** Conventional Steam Coal
- **Operator:** Rainbow Energy Center, LLC

## Related parties

- **Owner / operator:** Rainbow Energy Center, LLC — owner and operator ([source](https://rainbowenergycenter.com/))
- **Former owner:** Great River Energy — former owner and operator ([source](https://greatriverenergy.com/))
- **Transmission owner:** Nexus Line, LLC — transmission/distribution owner ([source](https://rainbowenergycenter.com/nexus-line/))
- **Fuel supplier:** The Falkirk Mining Company — lignite coal supplier and mine operator ([source](https://ir.nacco.com/))

## Sources

- [greatriverenergy.com](https://greatriverenergy.com/transmission/rainbow-energy-center-to-purchase-coal-creek-station) — greatriverenergy.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [ir.nacco.com](https://ir.nacco.com/2021-06-30-NACCO-Industries,-Inc-Announces-Falkirk-Mine-Expected-To-Continue-Operating-After-2022-As-A-Result-Of-Pending-Sale-of-Coal-Creek-Station) — ir.nacco.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [rainbowenergycenter.com](https://rainbowenergycenter.com/) — rainbowenergycenter.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.
- [rainbowenergycenter.com](https://rainbowenergycenter.com/nexus-line/) — rainbowenergycenter.com · public_source — Source retained for exact-record publication review.

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Canonical page: https://askthegrid.com/assets/facilities/coal-creek
Website: [Rainbow Energy Center, LLC](https://rainbowenergycenter.com/)

Source: Ask the Grid — https://askthegrid.com/