Big Bend Dam
Hydro power plant in Buffalo County, South Dakota. 538.3 MW of nameplate capacity across 8 generators, operated by USACE-Omaha.
Also known as EIA plant 3375
Analyst: free account, 1 question a day.
Key facts
- Capacity
- 538.3 MWNameplate
- Generators
- 8 operatingEIA-860M, August 2026
- Operating since
- September 1964First generator online
- Operator
- USACE-OmahaEIA operator ID 19635
- Grid
- SPPBalancing authority SWPP
- Price nodes
- 1 SPP nodeResource nodes with prices
- Location
- Buffalo County, SD44.0384, −99.4463
- EIA plant ID
- 3375EIA plant page
Data as of EIA-860M August 2026 (published 2026-09-24). Capacity is nameplate, not live output.
How much power Big Bend Dam produces
Free · EIA-923Net generation, 2025
746 GWh
745,769 MWh, final
Capacity factor, 2025
15.8%
2024: 17.2%
January to July 2026
Not reported
Provisional. 0 of 7 months reported
Range, 2015 to 2025
0.7–1.5
TWh a year. Low 2016, high 2019
| Year | Net generation, MWh | Capacity factor | Months reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,040,108 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2001 | 609,816 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2002 | 816,777 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2003 | 820,450 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2004 | 700,475 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2005 | 598,564 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2006 | 666,899 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2007 | 467,404 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2008 | 466,998 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2009 | 666,457 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2010 | 939,594 | 21.7% | 12 of 12 |
| 2011 | 1,599,724 | 37.0% | 12 of 12 |
| 2012 | 1,106,245 | 25.5% | 12 of 12 |
| 2013 | 742,763 | 17.2% | 12 of 12 |
| 2014 | 1,032,493 | 23.9% | 12 of 12 |
| 2015 | 843,567 | 19.5% | 12 of 12 |
| 2016 | 726,338 | 16.7% | 12 of 12 |
| 2017 | 954,403 | 22.1% | 12 of 12 |
| 2018 | 1,193,249 | 27.6% | 12 of 12 |
| 2019 | 1,525,056 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2020 | 1,022,097 | 21.6% | 12 of 12 |
| 2021 | 887,779 | 18.8% | 12 of 12 |
| 2022 | 782,870 | 16.6% | 12 of 12 |
| 2023 | 770,542 | 16.3% | 12 of 12 |
| 2024 | 812,996 | 17.2% | 12 of 12 |
| 2025 | 745,769 | 15.8% | 12 of 12 |
| 2026 (provisional, partial year) | Not reported | Not reported | 0 of 7 |
* 2026 covers January to July and is provisional. Capacity factor is net generation divided by nameplate capacity times the hours of each reported month.
Power prices and basis
Free account · SPPEmissions
Free · EPA CAMPDNo EPA emissions units are linked to this plant.
Water use
Free · EIA-923 cooling, USGSNo EIA cooling-water record for this plant in 2024. Plants without steam cooling, such as wind, solar and batteries, do not report cooling water.
Generators
Free · EIA-860M| Generator | Technology | Nameplate MW | Online since |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | September 1964 |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | November 1964 |
| 3 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.2 | February 1965 |
| 4 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | May 1965 |
| 5 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | September 1965 |
| 6 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | December 1965 |
| 7 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | May 1966 |
| 8 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 67.3 | July 1966 |
Ownership and offtake
ProOwnership and offtake are part of Pro
Owners and their shares, parent companies, and power purchase agreements with their buyers. EIA-860M lists USACE-Omaha as the operator, which is not always the owner.
Modeled data
ProPro adds modeled values for this plant. Everything above stays free.
300 analyst questions a month, plus MCP
Query Big Bend Dam and 14,224 other projects from Claude or your own tools. Free accounts get 1 question a day.
Power plants near Big Bend Dam
More plants operated by USACE-Omaha
Questions about Big Bend Dam
How much power does Big Bend Dam produce?
Big Bend Dam reported 745,769 MWh (746 GWh) of net generation in 2025, a 15.8% capacity factor on 538.3 MW of nameplate capacity.
Where is Big Bend Dam?
Big Bend Dam is in Buffalo County, South Dakota, at 44.0384, −99.4463. It is in the Southwest Power Pool balancing area (SWPP).
Who operates Big Bend Dam?
EIA-860M for August 2026 lists USACE-Omaha as the operator (EIA operator ID 19635). The operator is not always the owner.
When did Big Bend Dam start operating?
Its first generator began operating in September 1964, according to EIA-860M.
Does InfraMap have power prices for Big Bend Dam?
Yes. InfraMap has SPP day-ahead and real-time prices at 1 price node linked to Big Bend Dam, with the hub price and node-to-hub basis. Prices are free with an InfraMap account; pricing node names are part of InfraMap Pro.
Sources
- EIA-860 2025 (final) and EIA-860M August 2026: plant, generators, capacity, operator and location
- EIA-923 monthly net generation, 2000 to July 2026 (2026 provisional)
- SPP day-ahead and real-time prices; node and hub assignments as of 2026-10-05
Page updated 2026-10-04 from the InfraMap data build. Methodology · Data sources · EIA plant page