399th largest plant in California · 3575th nationally
Puente Hills Energy Recovery is a biomass power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 50.0 MW. It generates roughly 164.1k MWh per year — enough to power about 15,630 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 37% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (50.0 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 | Puente Hills Energy Recovery |
|---|---|
| Operator | Los Angeles County Sanitation |
| City | Whittier |
| County | Los Angeles County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 90601 |
| Coordinates | 34.02330, -118.02410 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Landfill Gas | Landfill Gas | 50.0 MW | Operating | 1986 |
| GEN3 | Landfill Gas | Landfill Gas | 3.3 MW | Retired | 2006 |
| GEN4 | Landfill Gas | Landfill Gas | 3.3 MW | Retired | 2006 |
| GEN5 | Landfill Gas | Landfill Gas | 3.3 MW | Retired | 2006 |
| GEN2 | Landfill Gas | Landfill Gas | 2.8 MW | Retired | 1984 |
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | California Independent System Operator |
Biomass plants burn wood, agricultural waste, or methane from landfills to generate steam and electricity. They are considered carbon-neutral over long timescales when fuel is sustainably sourced, but they produce particulate emissions similar to coal.