Drop 5 (CA)
Hydro power plant · Imperial County, California
Nameplate capacity
4.0 MW
Rank in California
#1102
of 1,897 plants
In service since
1982
March 1982
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Imperial Irrigation District
- County
- Imperial County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.00%
- Rank among hydro plants in California
- #174 of 244
- EIA plant code
- 314
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 2.0 MW | 1.9 MW | 1982 | Operating |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 2.0 MW | 1.9 MW | 1982 | 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
| Chuckawalla Solar | Solar | 4.0 MW |
| Double J Dairy Array | Solar | 4.0 MW |
| EQX015 Great Oaks Fuel Cell | Natural gas | 4.0 MW |
| Ellis Creek Solar | Solar | 4.0 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 4.0 MW solar plant and a 4.0 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