718th largest plant in California · 4995th nationally
Dinosaur Point is a wind power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 17.4 MW. It generates roughly 7.9k MWh per year — enough to power about 749 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 5% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Dinosaur Point |
|---|---|
| Operator | International Turbine Res Inc |
| City | Los Banos |
| County | Merced County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 93635 |
| Coordinates | 37.04780, -121.17080 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTGS | Onshore Wind Turbine | Wind | 17.4 MW | Out of Service | 1988 |
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | California Independent System Operator |
Wind farms harvest kinetic energy from moving air using large rotor blades coupled to generators. Like solar, they produce zero emissions but vary with weather. Onshore wind capacity factors typically run 30–45%; offshore can exceed 50%.