Power Plant Listings Across the United States

The United States generates electricity at thousands of sites. They include gas-fired turbines, hydroelectric dams, wind farms, solar arrays on closed landfills, and small plants that serve a single hospital or factory. Our directory holds 11,819 Power Plant records, and every state has entries. Each record is tied to a town and county, so you can find the site nearest you and work out who is responsible for it.

The variety is wide. Big Bend in Apollo Beach, Hillsborough County, Florida, is a large generating station on Tampa Bay. Dworshak in Ahsahka, Clearwater County, Idaho, is a hydroelectric project on a federal dam. Adams Wind Farm in Mower County, Minnesota, and Leaning Juniper Wind Power II in Gilliam County, Oregon, show how wind generation spreads across farmland and high desert. Acton Solar Landfill in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, gives a closed landfill a second use. Albany Medical Ctr Cogen Plant in Albany, New York, makes power and heat for a hospital campus.

A power plant is not a public counter like a city hall or a county clerk's office. Most plants belong to utilities, electric cooperatives, municipalities, federal agencies or private companies, and most do not take walk-in visitors. The listings help you identify a site, its county and its neighbors. The sections below explain which government body handles which question.

Who Owns, Runs and Regulates a Power Plant

No single agency controls power plants in this country. Responsibility is split across four levels of government, and the right contact depends on what you need.

  • Federal regulators: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission oversees interstate wholesale electricity and licenses most non-federal hydropower dams. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses nuclear plants. The Environmental Protection Agency sets national air and water pollution rules under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
  • Federal owners: Some plants are government property. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation run many dams, and Dworshak in Idaho is a Corps project. Questions about those sites go to the federal project office, not the state.
  • State agencies: A state public utility or public service commission sets rates for investor-owned utilities. In many states it also approves the siting of larger plants. The state environmental agency usually issues air and wastewater permits.
  • Counties: Counties handle zoning, building permits, road use and property tax assessment. Wind and solar projects often need county conditional-use permits, which is why a county name appears on every listing.
  • Cities and towns: A municipal utility may own its plant outright, with the city council acting as the governing board. Cities also enforce local noise, fire and safety codes.

Many plants answer to several of these at once. A wind farm in Mower County, for example, deals with the county on land use and the state on siting. It also deals with federal agencies on wildlife and grid connection. Start with the level that matches your question, then move up or down if you are redirected.

How Rules, Fees and Services Differ Between States

Siting rules are the biggest difference. In California, the California Energy Commission certifies large thermal power plants of 50 megawatts and above. In Minnesota, the Public Utilities Commission permits large wind projects, and smaller ones may go through county review. Other states leave more of the decision to local governments. Because of this, a proposed project can follow very different paths depending on where it is built.

Grid oversight also varies. Most of Texas is served by a grid managed by ERCOT and overseen by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which is largely separate from federal interstate regulation. Most other states are tied into larger regional grids. This affects who handles outages, market rules and complaints.

Fees and records differ as well. Permit fees, property tax treatment of generating equipment and public hearing rules are set by each state and county, so we do not quote a single fee here. Open-records laws also differ. Response times, copying charges and what counts as a public document change from state to state. If you request records about a plant, name the exact facility, its town and its county, and ask in writing.

Names repeat across state lines, which causes confusion. Our database includes an Albany in New York (Albany County), another in Georgia (Dougherty County) and another in Missouri (Gentry County). Aberdeen appears in Ohio's Brown County and in Washington's Grays Harbor County. Adams is a town in Minnesota and a town in Massachusetts, and several listings sit in counties named Adams. Always confirm the county before you call anyone.

How to Choose the Right State Page

Start with the state where the plant physically sits, not where its owner has an office. A utility headquartered in one state may run plants in several others, and each site follows local rules. If you live near a state line, check both sides.

The busiest pages are Power Plant in California, Power Plant in North Carolina and Power Plant in Texas. They are followed by Power Plant in New York, Power Plant in Minnesota and Power Plant in Massachusetts. Each state page narrows the list by city and county, which is the quickest way to find a specific site such as Tiburon Holdings in Advance, Davie County, or Antelope Station in Abernathy, Hale County.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The first mistake is driving to a plant expecting a front desk. Most sites restrict access for safety and security reasons. Call the utility's customer or community relations line first, or use the contact details in the listing when one is shown. The Big Bend and Albany Medical Ctr entries include phone numbers, but confirm them before relying on them.

The second mistake is contacting the wrong agency. An odor, noise or smoke complaint usually goes to the state environmental agency or the county. A power outage goes to your electric utility. A rate complaint goes to the state utility commission. A zoning question goes to the county planning office.

The third mistake is trusting the name alone. Plant names are often the name of a nearby town, lake or former owner, and ownership changes over time. Check the current operator before you send a letter or an records request.

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Reading Power Plant Records in the United States

Each listing in this directory shows a plant name, street address, county and, where available, a phone number or website. Some addresses are precise, such as 13401 Rancho Road in Adelanto, San Bernardino County. Others are rural routes, mailing boxes or highway intersections, such as Nc Highway 801 S and Keith Lane in Advance, or Taylor Road in Accomac, Accomack County. A post office box, like the one shown for Alakanuk in Kusilvak County, Alaska, tells you the mailing point rather than the plant gate.

The records cover more than utility-scale stations. Alticor World Headquarters Power Plant in Ada, Kent County, and Albany Medical Ctr Cogen Plant are on-site plants that serve one campus. Upper Rock Island Landfill Power Plant in Abingdon, Knox County, and Mclb Landfill Gas To Energy in Albany, Dougherty County, turn landfill gas into electricity. Use the county in each listing to find the permitting office and the tax assessor.

Power Plant Questions Answered for the United States

Several levels share the job. Federal bodies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency cover wholesale markets, nuclear safety and pollution standards. State utility commissions and environmental agencies handle rates, many siting decisions and air permits. Counties control zoning and building permits, and cities may own and run a municipal plant. When you have a question, match it to the level: outages go to the utility, emissions go to the state environmental agency, and land use goes to the county.

Usually not without arranging it first. Most plants limit access for safety and security, and many are unstaffed or remotely operated. Wind farms like Morning Light in Adair County and solar sites sit on private land. Federal dams such as Dworshak in Clearwater County, Idaho, may have a visitor area or scheduled tours, but hours change, so check with the project office. For any other site, contact the owner's community relations line and ask about tour policy before you travel.

Place names repeat across the country. Albany is a city in New York's Albany County, in Georgia's Dougherty County and in Missouri's Gentry County. Aberdeen appears in Brown County, Ohio, and Grays Harbor County, Washington. Adams is a town in both Minnesota and Massachusetts. The listing's county and street address separate them. Before you call, write to or search for a plant, confirm the state and county on the listing so you reach the correct office and the correct operator.

Have the plant name, town, county and street address ready, as shown in the listing. Write down the date and time of any event you are reporting, such as noise, smoke or a flicker in service, and note your own address. If you ask for public records, describe the document clearly, such as a permit, inspection report or hearing notice, and state the date range. Keep copies of everything you send. Clear details help agency staff route your request without delay.

Begin with the county planning or zoning office, because local land use approval is often required. Then check whether your state utility commission or siting board also reviews projects of that size. In Minnesota, for example, large wind projects go through the Public Utilities Commission, while Adams Wind Farm sits in Mower County. For a landfill solar site like Acton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, the town and state environmental offices are also involved. Ask each office about public hearing dates and written comment deadlines.

No. The database mixes very large and very small sites. Big Bend in Apollo Beach, Hillsborough County, is a major station. Others are modest, such as Impa Anderson Solar Park 2 in Anderson, Madison County, or Abilene Energy Center Combustion Turbine in Dickinson County, Kansas. Some serve one customer, like the Alticor headquarters plant in Ada. Read the plant name and county first, then check the operator, because the size and type of a site decide which permits and agencies apply.

Most listings carry an address and county but no phone number. A few, such as Albany Medical Ctr Cogen Plant and Big Bend, show one. Ownership, names and contacts change when plants are sold, upgraded or retired, so treat every entry as a starting point. Before you travel or send paperwork, confirm the current operator through the county office or the state utility commission. If you find an error, a corrected detail helps keep the directory useful for others in your area.