Big Creek 8
Hydro power plant · Fresno County, California
Nameplate capacity
75 MW
Rank in California
#338
of 1,897 plants
In service since
1929
June 1929
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Southern California Edison Co
- County
- Fresno County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.07%
- Rank among hydro plants in California
- #49 of 244
- EIA plant code
- 321
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 45 MW | 45 MW | 1929 | Out of service and NOT expected to return to service in next calendar year |
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 30 MW | 26 MW | 2021 | Operating |
Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.
Similarly sized plants in California
| Mojave 16/17/18 BESS | Battery storage | 77 MW |
| Baldy Mesa 2_Silver Peak Hybrid | Solar | 75 MW |
| Desert Peak Energy Storage II | Battery storage | 75 MW |
| Hummingbird Energy Storage LLC | Battery storage | 75 MW |
About this data
From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 75 MW solar plant and a 75 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.
“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All California power plants · What California actually generates