382nd largest plant in California · 3444th nationally
Carson Cogeneration is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 55.8 MW. It generates roughly 34.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,318 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 7% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1033 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 (55.8 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 | Carson Cogeneration |
|---|---|
| Operator | Carson Cogeneration Co |
| City | Carson |
| County | Los Angeles County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 90746 |
| Coordinates | 33.87590, -118.24910 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 45.3 MW | Operating | 1989 |
| GEN2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 10.5 MW | Operating | 1990 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cmd Carson Llc | Morristown, NJ | 9800.0% |
| Cmd Carson Gp Llc | Los Angeles, CA | 200.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 18.0k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 2 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1033 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.