924th largest plant in California · 6680th nationally
Centinela State Prison is a solar power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 6.0 MW. It generates roughly 18.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 1,728 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 35% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Centinela State Prison |
|---|---|
| Operator | Ecoplexus, Inc |
| City | Sacramento |
| County | Imperial County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 92251 |
| Coordinates | 32.82583, -115.78292 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CENSP | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 6.0 MW | Operating | 2019 |
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Imperial Irrigation District |
Utility-scale solar farms convert sunlight directly into electricity using photovoltaic panels. They produce zero direct emissions and have no fuel cost, but generation is variable — peaking at midday and falling to zero at night. Capacity factors typically run 18–28% in good locations.