841st largest plant in California · 5990th nationally
Central Utilities Plant Lax 2 is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 9.2 MW. It generates roughly 38.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 3,703 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 48% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 594 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Central Utilities Plant Lax 2 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Lax Airport |
| City | Los Angeles |
| County | Los Angeles County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 90045 |
| Coordinates | 33.94389, -118.40417 |
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 Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.6 MW | Operating | 2015 |
| GEN2 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 4.6 MW | Operating | 2015 |
| CO₂ | 11.5k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 32 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 594 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 | Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power |
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.