Ripon Generation Station

🔥 Natural GasElectric Utility121 MW capacity

217th largest plant in California · 2186th nationally

Ripon Generation Station is a natural gas power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 121 MW. It generates roughly 9.7k MWh per year — enough to power about 924 average U.S. homes.

Its capacity factor of 1% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1644 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.

PeakingMid-meritBaseload0%40%80%100%1%
Peaking — intermittent or backup
Capacity121 MWnameplate
Annual Generation9.7k MWhEPA eGRID
Capacity Factor1%of theoretical max
Annual CO₂8.0kmetric tons

Location

Plant NameRipon Generation Station
OperatorModesto Irrigation District
CityRipon
CountySan Joaquin County
StateCalifornia
ZIP95366
Coordinates37.73150, -121.11600

This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.

Natural GasHydroelectricWindSolarBiomassBattery Storage

Generators (2)

IDTechnologyFuelCapacityStatusOnline
1Natural Gas Fired Combustion TurbineNatural Gas60.5 MWOperating2006
2Natural Gas Fired Combustion TurbineNatural Gas60.5 MWOperating2006

Emissions (annual)

CO₂8.0k metric tons
NOₓ1 metric tons
CO₂ Rate1644 lb/MWh
U.S. grid average800 lb/MWhNatural gas combined-cycle average900 lb/MWhThis plant1,643 lb/MWhCoal plant average2,100 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.

Grid context

NERC RegionWECC
Balancing AuthorityBalancing Authority Of Northern California

About Natural Gas plants

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.

Other plants in San Joaquin County

View all plants in San Joaquin County →

Explore more