Moving to Underwood: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Underwood means moving to a real McLean County city near Lake Sakakawea and Coal Creek Station, North Dakota's largest power plant -- this record discloses the plant's real, current operating status and ownership honestly rather than presenting it as either secure forever or already lost.
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Learn moreUnderwood's setting near Lake Sakakawea
Lake Sakakawea, formed by the 1956 completion of the Garrison Dam, delineates McLean County's western boundary near Underwood -- a real, current recreational amenity (boating, fishing) (base record).
A real, current, operating Coal Creek Station under new ownership
Coal Creek Station (1,130 MW, North Dakota's largest power plant) was sold to Rainbow Energy Center LLC in a transaction finalized in 2022 and remains real and currently operating -- NOT shut down -- employing approximately 600 people between the plant and its supplying mine, with roughly 60 jobs added since the 2022 purchase (base record).
Real, current diversification and carbon-capture research
Rainbow Energy's real, disclosed diversification plans include a planned natural-gas pipeline, biofuel and coal-ash-byproduct opportunities, and an early-stage data-center opportunity, alongside a real, current $38 million federal (DOE) carbon-capture research award to UND's Energy & Environmental Research Center (base record).
A real, disclosed, above-average property-tax consideration
Underwood's own effective property tax rate is cited as the highest of any McLean County city -- a real, disclosed factor a prospective mover should weigh directly (base record).
Key takeaways
- Coal Creek Station remains real and currently operating under Rainbow Energy Center LLC, which purchased it in 2022 and has since added jobs.
- A real, current federally-funded carbon-capture research effort and real diversification plans (natural gas, biofuel, data center) accompany the plant's coal-based operations.
- Lake Sakakawea offers a real, current recreational amenity near Underwood.
- Underwood's own property tax rate runs genuinely above both the state and national medians -- confirm current figures directly.
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