860th largest plant in California · 6151st nationally
Bear Valley Power Plant is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 8.4 MW. It generates roughly 1.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 177 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 3% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1678 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Bear Valley Power Plant |
|---|---|
| Operator | Bear Valley Electric Service |
| City | Big Bear Lake |
| County | San Bernardino County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 92315 |
| Coordinates | 34.25060, -116.90250 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE1 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| ICE2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| ICE3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| ICE4 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| ICE5 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| ICE6 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| ICE7 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 1.2 MW | Operating | 2005 |
| CO₂ | 1.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 36 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1678 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | California Independent System Operator |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.