Panoche Valley Solar Farm
Solar power plant · San Benito County, California
Nameplate capacity
140 MW
Rank in California
#200
of 1,897 plants
In service since
2018
January 2018
Details
- Primary fuel
- Solar
- Technology
- Solar Photovoltaic
- Operator
- RWE Clean Energy
- County
- San Benito County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.13%
- Rank among solar plants in California
- #74 of 937
- EIA plant code
- 57340
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solar Photovoltaic | 140 MW | 140 MW | 2018 | 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
| McClure | Other | 142 MW |
| Pit 5 | Hydro | 142 MW |
| Trinity | Hydro | 140 MW |
| Midway Peaking LLC | Natural gas | 140 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 140 MW solar plant and a 140 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