Otay Mesa Generating Project
Natural gas power plant · San Diego County, California
Details
- Primary fuel
- Natural gas
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Operator
- Otay Mesa Energy Center LLC
- County
- San Diego County
- Generating units
- 3
- Share of state capacity
- 0.66%
- Rank among natural gas plants in California
- #13 of 309
- EIA plant code
- 55345
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-03 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 291 MW | 277 MW | 2009 | Operating |
| 1-01 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 210 MW | 159 MW | 2009 | Operating |
| 1-02 | Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle | 210 MW | 157 MW | 2009 | 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
| Shasta | Hydro | 714 MW |
| Colusa Generating Station | Natural gas | 712 MW |
| AES Huntington Beach Energy Project | Natural gas | 699 MW |
| Valley (CA) | Natural gas | 691 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 711 MW solar plant and a 711 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