167th largest plant in California · 1876th nationally
Heber Geothermal is a geothermal power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 151 MW. It generates roughly 250.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 23,823 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 19% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 89 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Heber Geothermal |
|---|---|
| Operator | Orcal Geothermal, Inc |
| City | Heber |
| County | Imperial County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 92249 |
| Coordinates | 32.71460, -115.51800 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 52.0 MW | Retired | 1985 |
| OEC1 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 26.5 MW | Operating | 2023 |
| OEC2 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 26.5 MW | Operating | 2023 |
| 4 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 19.0 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| OEC11 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 16.0 MW | Operating | 2023 |
| 2 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 7.0 MW | Retired | 2006 |
| 3 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Operating | 2006 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ormat Nevada Inc | Reno, NV | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 11.1k metric tons |
|---|---|
| CO₂ Rate | 89 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 | Imperial Irrigation District |
Geothermal plants tap heat from underground reservoirs to spin steam turbines. They provide carbon-free baseload power with very high capacity factors, but they only work where hot rock is accessible — primarily in the western U.S.