Encina Water Pollution Control

🌿 BiomassCommercial Non-CHP3 MW capacity

1142nd largest plant in California · 8991st nationally

Encina Water Pollution Control is a biomass power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 3.2 MW. It generates roughly 14.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 1,367 average U.S. homes.

Its capacity factor of 51% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 64 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.

PeakingMid-meritBaseload0%40%80%100%51%
Mid-merit — steady but not full-time
Capacity3 MWnameplate
Annual Generation14.4k MWhEPA eGRID
Capacity Factor51%of theoretical max
Annual CO₂458metric tons

Location

Plant NameEncina Water Pollution Control
OperatorEncina Joint Powers Authority
CityCarlsbad
CountySan Diego County
StateCalifornia
ZIP92011
Coordinates33.11650, -117.32150

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

Natural GasHydroelectricSolarBiomassBattery Storage

Generators (7)

IDTechnologyFuelCapacityStatusOnline
EG10Other Waste BiomassOther Biomass Gas0.8 MWOperating2008
EG20Other Waste BiomassOther Biomass Gas0.8 MWOperating2008
EG30Other Waste BiomassOther Biomass Gas0.8 MWOperating2009
EG40Other Waste BiomassOther Biomass Gas0.8 MWOperating2009
EG1Natural Gas Internal Combustion EngineNatural Gas0.5 MWRetired1984
EG2Natural Gas Internal Combustion EngineNatural Gas0.5 MWRetired1984
EG3Other Waste BiomassOther Biomass Gas0.5 MWRetired1984

Emissions (annual)

CO₂458 metric tons
SO₂1 metric tons
NOₓ329 metric tons
CO₂ Rate64 lb/MWh
This plant63 lb/MWhU.S. grid average800 lb/MWhNatural gas combined-cycle average900 lb/MWhCoal plant average2,100 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.

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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