42nd largest plant in Nevada · 2604th nationally
Mcginness Hills 3 is a geothermal power plant in Nevada with a nameplate capacity of 98.8 MW. It generates roughly 558.4k MWh per year — enough to power about 53,179 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 65% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Mcginness Hills 3 |
|---|---|
| Operator | Ormat Nevada Inc |
| City | Austin |
| County | Lander County |
| State | Nevada |
| ZIP | 89310 |
| Coordinates | 39.59630, -116.89420 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEC31 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 37.0 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| OEC32 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 37.0 MW | Operating | 2018 |
| G1A | Geothermal | Geothermal | 24.8 MW | Operating | 2021 |
| MHSOL | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 14.0 MW | Approved | — |
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Nevada Power Company |
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.