Black Butte
Hydro power plant · Tehama County, California
Nameplate capacity
6.1 MW
Rank in California
#940
of 1,897 plants
In service since
1988
September 1988
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- City of Santa Clara - (CA)
- County
- Tehama County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.01%
- Rank among hydro plants in California
- #146 of 244
- EIA plant code
- 7229
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 6.1 MW | 6.1 MW | 1988 | 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
| High Sierra Cogeneration Plant | Natural gas | 6.2 MW |
| Kiefer Landfill Generating Phase II | Other | 6.2 MW |
| Gas Utilization Facility | Other | 6.1 MW |
| Genentech Vacaville Meter #1 | Solar | 6.1 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 6.1 MW solar plant and a 6.1 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