Kern River Cogeneration
Natural gas power plant · Kern County, California
Nameplate capacity
300 MW
Rank in California
#74
of 1,897 plants
In service since
1985
July 1985
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Operator
- Kern River Cogeneration Co
- County
- Kern County
- Generating units
- 4
- Share of state capacity
- 0.28%
- Rank among natural gas plants in California
- #39 of 309
- EIA plant code
- 10496
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTAG | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 75 MW | 72 MW | 1985 | Operating |
| GTBG | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 75 MW | 72 MW | 1985 | Operating |
| GTCG | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 75 MW | 72 MW | 1985 | Operating |
| GTDG | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 75 MW | 72 MW | 1985 | 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
| Walnut Energy Center | Natural gas | 301 MW |
| Solano Wind | Wind | 301 MW |
| New Melones | Hydro | 300 MW |
| Sycamore Cogeneration | Natural gas | 300 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 300 MW solar plant and a 300 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