Los Medanos Energy Center
Natural gas power plant · Contra Costa County, California
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Operator
- Los Medanos Energy Center LLC
- County
- Contra Costa County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 0.63%
- Rank among natural gas plants in California
- #17 of 309
- EIA plant code
- 55217
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STG3 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 281 MW | 219 MW | 2001 | Operating |
| CTG1 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 199 MW | 170 MW | 2001 | Operating |
| CTG2 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 199 MW | 170 MW | 2001 | 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
| Sunrise Power LLC | Natural gas | 685 MW |
| Menifee Power Bank | Battery storage | 680 MW |
| AES Alamitos Energy Center | Natural gas | 678 MW |
| Carlsbad Energy Center | Natural gas | 659 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 678 MW solar plant and a 678 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