Electric Generation Capacity and Energy

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Michael Nyberg
Energy Assessments Division

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In-State Electric Generation by Fuel Type (GWh)

Primary Fuel Type 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Coal 2,096 1,263 824 802 311 324 305 296 250 317 303
Petroleum Coke 1,024 318 194 208 229 207 246 207 191 197 204
Biomass 6,066 6,211 6,559 6,785 6,367 5,905 5,843 5,919 5,952 5,693 5,439
Geothermal 12,685 12,733 12,510 12,186 11,994 11,582 11,745 11,528 10,967 11,345 11,116
Nuclear 36,666 18,491 17,860 17,027 18,525 18,931 17,925 18,268 16,163 16,280 16,477
Natural Gas 91,065 121,778 120,866 121,858 117,568 98,886 89,593 90,717 86,157 92,329 97,350
Large Hydro 35,682 22,737 20,319 13,739 11,569 24,410 36,920 22,043 33,145 17,938 12,036
Small Hydro 7,055 4,724 3,782 2,742 2,377 4,576 6,383 4,250 5,349 3,476 2,531
Solar PV 223 1,020 3,791 9,143 13,050 17,376 21,886 24,992 26,314 27,728 31,614
Solar Thermal 889 867 686 1,624 2,446 2,548 2,464 2,545 2,303 2,277 2,065
Wind 7,598 9,242 11,964 13,104 12,191 13,499 12,867 14,087 13,688 13,708 14,216
Waste Heat 267 217 222 237 177 182 163 223 220 187 178
Oil 36 49 39 45 54 37 33 35 36 30 39
Grand Total 201,353 199,650 199,616 199,501 196,858 198,464 206,372 195,110 200,735 191,506 193,569
Primary Fuel Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Coal 2,811 3,010 3,034 2,896 3,012 2,920 2,970 2,841 2,565 2,290
Petroleum Coke 1,231 1,265 1,237 1,197 1,271 1,270 1,249 1,142 1,173 1,120
Biomass 5,782 6,217 6,094 6,082 6,080 5,865 5,766 5,915 6,122 5,993
Geothermal 13,525 13,396 13,329 13,494 13,292 13,093 13,084 12,907 12,907 12,740
Nuclear 33,294 34,353 35,594 30,241 36,155 32,036 35,698 32,482 31,509 32,214
Natural Gas 116,150 92,490 94,191 105,033 96,893 108,952 120,245 122,793 117,099 109,681
Large Hydro 20,144 26,003 30,325 28,945 33,334 40,952 22,640 19,887 23,659 28,483
Small Hydro 4,844 5,356 5,996 5,545 6,928 7,607 4,466 4,573 4,880 5,707
Solar PV 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 14 87
Solar Thermal 834 848 757 739 658 614 666 730 841 879
Wind 3,242 3,546 3,316 4,258 4,084 4,902 5,570 5,724 6,249 6,172
Waste Heat 242 240 294 237 221 259 233 278 233 241
Oil 379 87 103 127 148 134 103 92 67 52
Grand Total 202,480 186,815 194,270 198,796 202,079 218,604 212,693 209,367 207,317 205,657
Graph of In-State Electric Generation by Fuel Type (GWh)

Installed In-State Electric Generation Capacity by Fuel Type (MW)

Primary Fuel Type 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Coal 366 302 247 247 139 101 63 63 63 63 63
Petroleum Coke 173 149 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36
Biomass 1,182 1,212 1,226 1,310 1,329 1,337 1,319 1,336 1,318 1,276 1,266
Geothermal 2,648 2,703 2,705 2,703 2,716 2,702 2,665 2,706 2,712 2,712 2,693
Nuclear 4,647 4,647 4,647 2,393 2,393 2,393 2,393 2,393 2,393 2,393 2,393
Natural Gas 44,417 45,221 48,905 47,121 45,478 45,468 42,465 42,691 40,404 39,397 39,442
Large Hydro 12,172 12,172 12,182 12,271 12,279 12,279 12,281 12,281 12,281 12,281 12,281
Small Hydro 1,744 1,757 1,766 1,756 1,751 1,750 1,758 1,758 1,758 1,762 1,762
Solar PV 226 791 3,128 4,789 6,074 8,739 9,815 10,653 11,370 13,058 13,823
Solar Thermal 408 408 925 1,300 1,292 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249
Wind 3,992 4,967 5,785 5,877 6,029 5,671 5,678 5,982 5,963 6,038 6,281
Waste Heat 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52
Oil 510 351 351 352 352 352 352 352 352 352 352
Grand Total 72,537 74,732 81,955 80,207 79,920 82,128 80,124 81,550 79,949 80,667 81,691
Primary Fuel Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Coal 429 429 429 429 429 429 429 429 410 416
Petroleum Coke 173 173 173 173 173 173 173 173 173 173
Biomass 1,175 1,154 1,159 1,106 1,106 1,100 1,094 1,121 1,118 1,128
Geothermal 2,625 2,623 2,623 2,623 2,623 2,641 2,696 2,598 2,648 2,648
Nuclear 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,456 4,577
Natural Gas 30,432 33,411 36,619 36,049 38,737 40,434 40,926 41,302 43,565 44,552
Large Hydro 11,857 11,721 11,721 11,721 11,710 11,812 11,812 12,093 12,093 12,132
Small Hydro 1,751 1,748 1,740 1,739 1,743 1,745 1,747 1,749 1,758 1,745
Solar PV 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 7 13 115
Solar Thermal 410 378 378 378 378 400 400 400 408 408
Wind 1,534 1,544 1,571 2,064 2,089 2,310 2,373 2,462 2,728 3,183
Waste Heat 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52 52
Oil 635 590 567 567 567 558 575 575 576 552
Grand Total 55,530 58,282 61,491 61,360 64,066 66,113 66,736 67,418 69,998 71,681
graph of Installed In-State Electric Generation Capacity by Fuel Type (MW)
Source: QFER CEC-1304 Power Plant Data Reporting
* Note: Operational capacity as of December 31 of each year. Does not include plants that retired within the year.

Data based on CEC-1304 QFER Database as of May 11, 2021.

These tables and corresponding charts are provided to show the total installed electric generation nameplate capacity of all power plants one megawatt (MW) and larger located within California, and the corresponding generation from these resources. The data is collected under the authority of the California Code of Regulations, Title 20, Division 2, Chapter 3, Section 1304(a)(1)-(2).

The information in these charts and tables is based on metering at each power plant site and, therefore, does not account for the 7-8 percent (typical) loss attributed to transmission for delivery to the customer's meter. In addition, the information includes both retail sales and non-retail sales such as water delivery and pumped storage. The information cannot be used to determine progress toward the Renewables Portfolio Standard due to these differences.

The information does not include power plants with a nameplate capacity of less than one megawatt and does not include distributed generation such as residential solar photovoltaic installations, backup power generators, or imported energy from surrounding control areas. Data is subject to change based on revisions and quality control checks.

For more information, visit the Renewables Portfolio Standard.