34th largest plant in California · 632nd nationally
Blythe Energy Inc is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 591 MW. It generates roughly 1.5M MWh per year — enough to power about 147,289 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 30% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 961 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (591 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Blythe Energy Inc |
|---|---|
| Operator | Altagas Blythe Operations Inc |
| City | Blythe |
| County | Riverside County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 92225 |
| Coordinates | 33.61570, -114.68650 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 227 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CT1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 182 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CT2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 182 MW | Operating | 2003 |
| CO₂ | 743.2k metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 4 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 53 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 961 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.