324th largest plant in California · 3001st nationally
Second Imperial Geothermal is a geothermal power plant in California with a nameplate capacity of 74.5 MW. It generates roughly 326.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 31,102 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 50% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time.
| Plant Name | Second Imperial Geothermal |
|---|---|
| Operator | Orcal Geothermal, Inc |
| City | Heber |
| County | Imperial County |
| State | California |
| ZIP | 92249 |
| Coordinates | 32.71440, -115.53560 |
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 | 26.5 MW | Operating | 2022 |
| GE13 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 16.0 MW | Operating | 2006 |
| GEN14 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 16.0 MW | Operating | 2008 |
| OEC2 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 16.0 MW | Operating | 2022 |
| GE10 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 4.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GE11 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 4.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GE12 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 4.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN7 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 4.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN8 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 4.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN9 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 4.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN1 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN2 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN3 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN4 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN5 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| GEN6 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 3.5 MW | Retired | 1993 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ormat Nevada Inc | Reno, NV | 10000.0% |
| Second Imperial Geothermal Company | Heber, CA | 10000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Imperial Irrigation District |
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.