River Hills — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 1084
- Capacity
- 128 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Natural Gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Polk, IA
- Operating Since
- 1966
- Generators
- 8
- Operator
- MidAmerican Energy Co
- Parent Company
- Berkshire Hathaway
- Annual Generation
- 1,343 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 0.1%
- Balancing Authority
- Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..
- ISO/RTO
- MISO
- NERC Region
- MRO
River Hills
OperatingNatural Gas
Ranked #11 of 39 Natural Gas plants in IA#862 of 2009 nationally
128 MW Natural Gas operating in Polk, IA — Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc..
EIAWD
128 MW
Nameplate Capacity
8
Generators
units
Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
Technology
1966
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
41.5904, -93.6196
County
Polk, IA
Nearby Plants
- Anderson EricksonDistillate Oil2 MW · 3.8 km
- Archer Daniels Midland Des MoinesNatural Gas7.9 MW · 4.8 km
- Des Moines Wastewater Reclamation FacBio. Gas2.8 MW · 5.5 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | MidAmerican Energy Co | MidAmerican Energy | — |
| Owner(s) | MidAmerican Energy Co | Berkshire Hathaway | — |
| Status | Operating | — | — |
Ownership Chain
About
River Hills is a 128 MW natural gas-fired power plant located in Polk County, Iowa. The plant, which began operating in 1966, consists of 8 natural gas-fired combustion turbine generators. It is owned by Berkshire Hathaway and operated by MidAmerican Energy Co. The plant's installed cost was $135.21 per kW, according to FERC data.
River Hills operates within the Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) balancing authority and the MRO NERC region. In the most recent year of data, the plant generated 1,343 MWh of electricity, resulting in a capacity factor of 0.1%. River Hills is ranked as the 10th largest power plant out of 13 in Iowa, and 860th out of 945 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
69 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Investor-Owned Utility
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
109 MWh
Latest Month
1.3K MWh
Annual Generation
0.1%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2022 – Dec 2024
Financial DataBeta
Source: FERC Form 1HIGH
$146/kW
Installed Cost
$377.9/MWh
Operating Cost
MidAmerican Energy Company
Reporting Utility
Annual Capital & Operating Expenses
Cumulative Installed Cost
Per-Unit Cost Trends
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidencePoint of Interconnection
Nearest Substation
River Hills Gas Plant · 161 kV
Substation Distance
< 10 km
Operator
MidAmerican Energy
Coord Source
OSM spatial
Market Position
ISO/RTO Market
MISO
LMP Node
MEC.RHILLS14&58
Pricing Hub
MINN.HUB
Node Source
EIA-860 direct report
News & Articles (10)Beta
Hazards·wildfire
Red Flag Warning: Sac; Calhoun; Crawford; Carroll; Greene; Boone; Audubon; Guthrie; Dallas; Polk; Cass; Adair; Madison
Red Flag Warning issued March 21 at 9:44AM CDT until March 21 at 10:00PM CDT by NWS Des Moines IA
Red Flag Warning (hazard)
NWS Des Moines IA·5 days ago
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Last updated 2026-03-21
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