Brea Expansion Plant

🌿 BiomassIPP Non-CHP35 MW capacity

512th largest plant in California · 4035th nationally

Brea Expansion Plant is a biomass power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 35.7 MW. It generates roughly 247.0k MWh per year — enough to power about 23,525 average U.S. homes.

Its capacity factor of 79% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.

PeakingMid-meritBaseload0%40%80%100%79%
Mid-merit — steady but not full-time

Month by month in 2024

100% capacity0Jan: 21.2k MWh (80% of capacity)JFeb: 20.1k MWh (84% of capacity)FMar: 21.6k MWh (81% of capacity)MApr: 17.4k MWh (68% of capacity)AMay: 22.4k MWh (84% of capacity)MJun: 18.3k MWh (71% of capacity)JJul: 19.5k MWh (74% of capacity)JAug: 21.4k MWh (80% of capacity)ASep: 20.9k MWh (81% of capacity)SOct: 21.4k MWh (80% of capacity)ONov: 19.9k MWh (77% of capacity)NDec: 22.2k MWh (83% of capacity)D

Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (35.7 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.

Capacity36 MWnameplate
Annual Generation247.0k MWhEPA eGRID
Capacity Factor79%of theoretical max
Annual CO₂metric tons

Location

Plant NameBrea Expansion Plant
OperatorBrea Power Ii
CityBrea
CountyOrange County
StateCalifornia
ZIP92821
Coordinates33.93202, -117.84023

This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.

Natural GasHydroelectricSolarBiomass

Generators (5)

IDTechnologyFuelCapacityStatusOnline
G5Landfill GasLandfill Gas10.5 MWOperating2012
G1Landfill GasLandfill Gas6.3 MWOperating2012
G2Landfill GasLandfill Gas6.3 MWOperating2012
G3Landfill GasLandfill Gas6.3 MWOperating2012
G4Landfill GasLandfill Gas6.3 MWOperating2012

Emissions (annual)

SO₂39 metric tons

Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.

Grid context

NERC RegionWECC
Balancing AuthorityCalifornia Independent System Operator

About Biomass plants

Biomass plants burn wood, agricultural waste, or methane from landfills to generate steam and electricity. They are considered carbon-neutral over long timescales when fuel is sustainably sourced, but they produce particulate emissions similar to coal.

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