59th largest plant in Nevada · 4005th nationally
North Valley is a geothermal power plant in Nevada with a nameplate capacity of 37.0 MW. It generates roughly 157.2k MWh per year — enough to power about 14,968 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 48% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | North Valley |
|---|---|
| Operator | North Valley |
| City | Gerlach |
| County | Washoe County |
| State | Nevada |
| ZIP | 89412 |
| Coordinates | 40.37294, -119.46250 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEC1 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 31.5 MW | Operating | 2023 |
| NVSOL | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 5.5 MW | Operating | 2024 |
| 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.