24th largest plant in California · 529th nationally
Los Medanos Energy Center is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 678 MW. It generates roughly 3.1M MWh per year — enough to power about 291,628 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 52% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 790 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (678 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Los Medanos Energy Center |
|---|---|
| Operator | Los Medanos Energy Center Llc |
| City | Pittsburg |
| County | Contra Costa County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 94565 |
| Coordinates | 38.03007, -121.87300 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 281 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 199 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | Natural Gas | 199 MW | Operating | 2001 |
| CO₂ | 1.2M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 6 metric tons |
| NOₓ | 74 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 790 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.