Salton Sea Power Llc - Unit 5

♨ GeothermalIPP Non-CHP58 MW capacity

374th largest plant in California · 3404th nationally

Salton Sea Power Llc - Unit 5 is a geothermal power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 58.3 MW. It generates roughly 302.8k MWh per year — enough to power about 28,837 average U.S. homes.

Its capacity factor of 59% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 89 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits below the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.

PeakingMid-meritBaseload0%40%80%100%59%
Mid-merit — steady but not full-time
Capacity58 MWnameplate
Annual Generation302.8k MWhEPA eGRID
Capacity Factor59%of theoretical max
Annual CO₂13.4kmetric tons

Location

Plant NameSalton Sea Power Llc - Unit 5
OperatorCalenergy Operating Corporation
CityCalipatria
CountyImperial County
StateCalifornia
ZIP92233
Coordinates33.15330, -115.63840

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

Natural GasSolarGeothermal

Generators (1)

IDTechnologyFuelCapacityStatusOnline
TG51GeothermalGeothermal58.3 MWOperating2000

Ownership

OwnerLocationShare
Ce GenerationOmaha, NE10000.0%

Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.

Emissions (annual)

CO₂13.4k metric tons
CO₂ Rate89 lb/MWh
This plant88 lb/MWhU.S. grid average800 lb/MWhNatural gas combined-cycle average900 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 AuthorityImperial Irrigation District

About Geothermal plants

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.

Other plants in Imperial County

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