Argus Cogen Plant

Coal power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 35.765, -117.3833.

CoalCaliforniaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Argus Cogen Plant is a 62 MW coal power plant in California, United States of America. It is operated by Searles Valley Minerals Operations Inc.. Based on reported annual generation of 250 GWh, it can supply roughly 71,371 homes. It ranks #2488 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1974, it is around 52 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its measured emissions of 174,150 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 40,594 cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

62MW installed capacity
250GWh reported / yr
71,371homes powered
174,150t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1974commissioned (~52 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0010684.

174,150 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

40,594passenger cars driven for a year
22,711homes' yearly energy use
2,902,500tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 361 GWh20132014: 316 GWh20142015: 309 GWh20152016: 326 GWh20162017: 304 GWh20172018: 296 GWh20182019: 250 GWh2019361 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Searles Valley Minerals Operations Inc.. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 35.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.7°Cannual mean temp
1,190heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,466cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
749 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 8 °CJF: 10 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 22 °CMJ: 27 °CJJ: 31 °CJA: 30 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 20 °CON: 12 °CND: 8 °CD31 °C

Heating degree-days here run 52% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 29/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #245 largest coal power plant of 286 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 286 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 249,149 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 35.765, -117.3833 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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