Walter Scott Jr Energy Center — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 1082
- Capacity
- 1648.3 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Coal
- Technology
- Conventional Steam Coal
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Pottawattamie, IA
- Operating Since
- 1978
- Generators
- 2
- Operator
- MidAmerican Energy Co
- Parent Company
- —
- Annual Generation
- 5,979,018 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 41.4%
- Balancing Authority
- Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..
- ISO/RTO
- MISO
- NERC Region
- MRO
Walter Scott Jr Energy Center
OperatingSub. Coal
Ranked #1 of 8 Sub. Coal plants in IA#21 of 103 nationally
1648.3 MW Sub. Coal operating in Pottawattamie, IA — Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..
EIAWD
1,648.3 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Conventional Steam Coal
Technology
1978
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
41.1800, -95.8408
County
Pottawattamie, IA
Nearby Plants
- Missouri River Wastewater TreatmentBio. Gas3 MW · 7.8 km
- Jones StreetDistillate Oil130 MW · 10.5 km
- Sarpy CountyNatural Gas338.4 MW · 10.9 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | MidAmerican Energy Co | — | — |
| Owner(s) | Atlantic Municipal Utilities, Cedar Falls Utilities, Central Iowa Power Cooperative, City of Alta - (IA), City of New Hampton - (IA), City of Spencer - (IA), City of Sumner - (IA), City of West Bend, Corn Belt Power Coop, Eldridge City Utilities, Lincoln Electric System, MidAmerican Energy Co, Municipal Energy Agency of NE, Town of Montezuma - (IN), Waverly Municipal Elec Utility | — | — |
| Status | Operating | — | — |
Ownership Chain
No GEM tracker match for this plant — ownership chain unavailable.
About
The Walter Scott Jr Energy Center is a 1648.3 MW coal-fired power plant located in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It began operating in 1978 and is owned and operated by MidAmerican Energy Co. The plant utilizes conventional steam coal technology and subbituminous coal (SUB) as its primary fuel source. It consists of two generating units.
The Walter Scott Jr Energy Center operates within the Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) balancing authority and the MRO NERC region. In the most recent year with available data, the plant generated 5,979,018 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 41.4%. It is the largest of 9 coal plants in Iowa, and ranks 17th out of 75 coal plants nationally.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
MRO
Balancing Authority
Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..
Grid Voltage
345 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Investor-Owned Utility
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
646.5K MWh
Latest Month
6.0M MWh
Annual Generation
41.4%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2023 – Dec 2025
Financial Data
No financial data available for this plant.
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidenceMarket Position
ISO/RTO Market
MISO
LMP Node
MEC.WSEC4
Pricing Hub
MINN.HUB
Location Type
Generation Node
Node Source
EIA-860 direct report
News & Articles (10)Beta
Hazards·wildfire
Red Flag Warning: Monona; Harrison; Shelby; Pottawattamie; Mills; Montgomery; Fremont; Page; Knox; Cedar; Thurston; An
Red Flag Warning issued March 21 at 1:04PM CDT until March 22 at 4:00AM CDT by NWS Omaha/Valley NE
Red Flag Warning (hazard)
NWS Omaha/Valley NE·5 days ago
Regulatory·federal policy
EPA Moves to End Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the reporting is not mandated under the Clean Air Act and has no bearing on the environment.
EPA (regulator)Lee Zeldin (executive)
RTO Insider·6 months ago
Industry·technology
Research says Council Bluffs plant caused several hundred deaths over past 70 years
Since it began burning coal in 1954, emissions from the Walter Scott Jr. Energy Center in Council Bluffs have led to between 790 and 950 deaths,...
Walter Scott Jr. Energy Center (operator)Council Bluffs (other)
Daily Nonpareil·7 months ago
Industry·technology
New documentary focuses on Iowa's coal plants
A short documentary focusing on the public health and environmental impacts of MidAmerican Energy's five Iowa coal plants premieres Wednesday at Varsity Cinema.
MidAmerican Energy (operator)Varsity Cinema (other)
Axios·11 months ago
Last updated 2026-03-21
View all 10 articles