W Plant

Gas power plant in California, United States of America. Approximate location 32.9033, -117.1956.

GasCaliforniaUnited States of America

W Plant is a 5 MW gas power plant in California, United States of America. It is operated by Qualcomm Incorporated. Based on reported annual generation of 35 GWh, it can supply roughly 10,000 homes. It ranks #6258 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2005, it is around 21 years old — relatively modern. 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).

5MW installed capacity
35GWh reported / yr
10,000homes powered
2005commissioned (~21 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0059458.

~14,000 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

3,263passenger cars driven for a year
1,826homes' yearly energy use
233,333tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical gas emission factor (~400 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2014: 31 GWh20142015: 36 GWh20152016: 35 GWh20162017: 34 GWh20172018: 35 GWh20182019: 35 GWh201936 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Qualcomm Incorporated. All plants by this company →

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 cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 32.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.1°Cannual mean temp
521heating degree-days (base 18°C)
553cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
103 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 14 °CJF: 14 °CFM: 15 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 20 °CON: 16 °CND: 14 °CD23 °C

Heating degree-days here run 79% 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.

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 ~2% 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 #1596 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 32.9033, -117.1956 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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