Biomass power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 34.1358, -118.1267.
BiomassCaliforniaUnited States of America
Caltech Central is a 1 MW biomass power plant in California, United States of America. It is operated by Bloom Energy 2009 PPA. Based on reported annual generation of 8 GWh, it can supply roughly 2,200 homes. It ranks #9223 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2010, it is around 16 years old — relatively modern. In context, biomass supplies about 1.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0057460.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Bloom Energy 2009 PPA. All plants by this company →
This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 34.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 77% 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: 21/100 — 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.
The #141 largest biomass power plant of 153 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 153 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 5,123 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 34.1358, -118.1267 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
