192nd largest plant in California · 2053rd nationally
Gilroy Peaking Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 135 MW. It generates roughly 24.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 2,302 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 2% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1377 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Gilroy Peaking Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Calpine Gilroy Cogen Lp |
| City | Gilroy |
| County | Santa Clara County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 95020 |
| Coordinates | 36.99900, -121.53630 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S3 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.0 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| S4 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.0 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| S5 | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | Natural Gas | 48.0 MW | Operating | 2002 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Gilroy Energy Center Llc | Suisun, CA | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 16.6k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 4 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1377 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.