71st largest plant in Nevada · 4442nd nationally
Steamboat Iii is a geothermal power plant in Nevada with a nameplate capacity of 23.7 MW. It generates roughly 45.6k MWh per year — enough to power about 4,343 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 22% reflects intermittent or peaking operation.
| Plant Name | Steamboat Iii |
|---|---|
| Operator | Steamboat Development Corp |
| City | Reno |
| County | Washoe County |
| State | Nevada |
| ZIP | 89521 |
| Coordinates | 39.39444, -119.74750 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T301 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 10.3 MW | Operating | 1992 |
| T302 | Geothermal | Geothermal | 10.3 MW | Operating | 1992 |
| SB3SL | Solar Photovoltaic | Solar | 5.5 MW | Operating | 2023 |
| 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.