Nacimiento Hydro Project
Hydro power plant · San Luis Obispo County, California
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Monterey Cnty Water Res Agency
- County
- San Luis Obispo County
- Generating units
- 2
- Share of state capacity
- 0.00%
- Rank among hydro plants in California
- #169 of 244
- EIA plant code
- 50352
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 4.0 MW | 3.7 MW | 1987 | Operating |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 0.4 MW | 0.3 MW | 1987 | 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
| Graniterock Quarry | Solar | 4.4 MW |
| Laguna Water Reclamation Facility | Other | 4.4 MW |
| Redwood Coast Airport Microgrid | Solar | 4.4 MW |
| Siphon Drop Power Plant | Hydro | 4.4 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 4.4 MW solar plant and a 4.4 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