Sand Bar Power Plant
Hydro power plant · Tuolumne County, California
Nameplate capacity
16 MW
Rank in California
#746
of 1,897 plants
In service since
1986
May 1986
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- Tri-Dam Power Authority
- County
- Tuolumne County
- Generating units
- 1
- Share of state capacity
- 0.02%
- Rank among hydro plants in California
- #97 of 244
- EIA plant code
- 50400
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 16 MW | 16 MW | 1986 | 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
| MCAGCC Cogen Plant | Natural gas | 16 MW |
| Wise | Hydro | 16 MW |
| Plant No 2 Orange County | Other | 16 MW |
| CED Avenal | Solar | 16 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 16 MW solar plant and a 16 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