Buckthorn Westex

Solar power plant in Texas, United States of America. Approximate location 30.5755, -102.5513.

SolarTexasUnited States of America

Buckthorn Westex is a 202 MW solar power station in Texas, United States of America. It is operated by Buckthorn Westex LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 265 GWh, it can supply roughly 75,657 homes. It ranks #1224 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2018, it is around 8 years old — recently built. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 8.6% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

202MW installed capacity
265GWh reported / yr
75,657homes powered
2018commissioned (~8 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0060044.

Reported generation trend

2018: 198 GWh20182019: 265 GWh2019265 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Buckthorn Westex LLC.

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 30.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

17.7°Cannual mean temp
1,156heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,048cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
989 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 7 °CJF: 10 °CFM: 14 °CMA: 18 °CAM: 22 °CMJ: 26 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 18 °CON: 12 °CND: 8 °CD27 °C

Heating degree-days here run 53% 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: 28/100 — 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.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.6% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

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 #21 largest solar power plant of 3283 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 3283 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 37,970 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 30.5755, -102.5513 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.