Home / North America / United States of America / Sutter Energy Center

Sutter Energy Center

Gas power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 39.0531, -121.6959.

GasCaliforniaUnited States of AmericaCO₂ reported

Sutter Energy Center is a 636 MW gas power station in California, United States of America. It is operated by Calpine Corp-Sutter. Based on reported annual generation of 653 GWh, it can supply roughly 186,600 homes. It ranks #574 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. Its measured emissions of 841,348 t CO₂/yr (US EPA GHGRP) are equivalent to about 196,118 cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

636MW installed capacity
653GWh reported / yr
186,600homes powered
841,348t CO₂ / yr (US EPA GHGRP)
2001commissioned (~25 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055112.

841,348 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

196,118passenger cars driven for a year
109,722homes' yearly energy use
14,022,467tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to US EPA GHGRP.

Reported generation trend

2013: 1,042 GWh20132014: 1,184 GWh20142015: 1,254 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 590 GWh20182019: 653 GWh20191k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Calpine Corp-Sutter.

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.6°Cannual mean temp
1,240heating degree-days (base 18°C)
729cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
10 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 8 °CJF: 11 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 16 °CAM: 20 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 18 °CON: 12 °CND: 8 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 50% 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: 29/100 — 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~1% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, 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 #322 largest gas power plant of 1818 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1818 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 546,436 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 39.0531, -121.6959 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.