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 2.2k homes. It ranks #10317 of 10,938 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.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 1 MW, Caltech Central is below the median biomass plant in United States of America (18 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Bloom Energy 2009 PPA.
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.
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.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #171 largest biomass power plant of 184 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 184 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 6,324 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 34.1358, -118.1267 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Caltech Central is a 1 MW source-record biomass power plant in California, United States of America, commissioned in 2010.
Caltech Central generates about 8 GWh of electricity per year.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 2,200 homes.
Caltech Central is operated by Bloom Energy 2009 PPA.
