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Coso Energy Developers

Geothermal power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 36.0019, -117.7886.

GeothermalCaliforniaUnited States of America

Coso Energy Developers is a 90 MW geothermal power plant in California, United States of America. It is operated by Coso Operating Co LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 279 GWh, it can supply roughly 79,714 homes. It ranks #2103 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1989, it is around 37 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, geothermal supplies about 0.4% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

90MW installed capacity
279GWh reported / yr
79,714homes powered
1989commissioned (~37 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0010875.

Reported generation trend

2013: 373 GWh20132014: 341 GWh20142015: 296 GWh20152016: 267 GWh20162017: 272 GWh20172018: 285 GWh20182019: 279 GWh2019373 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Coso Operating Co LLC. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This geothermal plant taps underground heat to raise steam that drives a turbine. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 36.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.0°Cannual mean temp
1,269heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,279cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
892 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 8 °CJF: 10 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 16 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 26 °CJJ: 30 °CJA: 29 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 19 °CON: 12 °CND: 8 °CD30 °C

Heating degree-days here run 48% 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: 30/100 — 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 #7 largest geothermal power plant of 65 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 65 geothermal power plants in this dataset, together about 3,889 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 36.0019, -117.7886 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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