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Centinela Solar Energy

Solar power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 32.6869, -115.6478.

SolarCaliforniaUnited States of America

Centinela Solar Energy is a 175 MW solar power station in California, United States of America. It is operated by Centinela Solar Energy LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 484 GWh, it can supply roughly 138,200 homes. It ranks #1385 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2013, it is around 13 years old — relatively modern. 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).

175MW installed capacity
484GWh reported / yr
138,200homes powered
2013commissioned (~13 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0058430.

Reported generation trend

2013: 50 GWh20132014: 449 GWh20142015: 510 GWh20152016: 485 GWh20162017: 468 GWh20172018: 459 GWh20182019: 484 GWh2019510 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Centinela Solar Energy LLC.

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 32.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.6°Cannual mean temp
379heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,061cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
25 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 13 °CJF: 15 °CFM: 18 °CMA: 21 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 29 °CJJ: 33 °CJA: 33 °CAS: 30 °CSO: 24 °CON: 18 °CND: 13 °CD33 °C

Heating degree-days here run 85% 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: 19/100 — 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 2.7% 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 #28 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 32.6869, -115.6478 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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