Rockwood

Oil power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 32.9553, -115.5364.

OilCaliforniaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Rockwood is a 50 MW oil power plant in California, United States of America. It is operated by Imperial Irrigation District. Based on reported annual generation of 1 GWh, it can supply roughly 257 homes. It ranks #2778 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1979, it is around 47 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 52,535 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 12,246 cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

50MW installed capacity
1GWh reported / yr
257homes powered
52,535t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1979commissioned (~47 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0007824.

52,535 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

12,246passenger cars driven for a year
6,851homes' yearly energy use
875,583tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 1 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 1 GWh20152016: 2 GWh20162017: 2 GWh20172018: 1 GWh20182019: 1 GWh20192 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Imperial Irrigation District. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 33.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.3°Cannual mean temp
499heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,083cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
-28 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 12 °CJF: 15 °CFM: 17 °CMA: 21 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 30 °CJJ: 33 °CJA: 33 °CAS: 30 °CSO: 24 °CON: 17 °CND: 12 °CD33 °C

Heating degree-days here run 80% 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: 20/100 — 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 #106 largest oil power plant of 876 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 876 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 37,143 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 32.9553, -115.5364 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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