California Known Geothermal Resource Areas, Geothermal Power Plants, and Funded Geothermal Program Projects

This dashboard provides access to selected data related to California known geothermal resource areas (KGRAs), California geothermal power plants, and California funded Geothermal Program projects, as described below. To see the information, please hover over the icons shown in the graphic below.

  • For each KGRA: technical power capacity, installed power capacity, counties, and number of geothermal power plants in each county.
  • For each geothermal power plant: plant identification (ID), installed power capacity, and date when the plant started operating (start date).
  • For each Geothermal Program project: grant number, grant recipient, project title, and project period. 

Users can expand the accordion at the bottom of this page to view definitions of terms and additional information. 

Visit Geothermal Grant and Loan Program to learn more about the program.  

Disclaimer: The locations of funded geothermal project shown on this map are estimates based on information received from the grant recipient.

Dashboard is best viewed from a computer.  Visit Tableau for the full page layout of dashboard or download data, or return to dashboard collection page. 

Other Dashboards in this Collection:
CA KGRAs, Geo Power Plants, and Funded Geo Program Projects | Summary of Geothermal Program Projects | Geothermal Program Project Reports

CEC Plant ID: California Energy Commission (CEC)'s identification number (ID) of a geothermal power plant.

County: A political and administrative division of a state, providing certain local governmental services. 

Geo Power Plant (Geothermal Power Plant):  Geothermal power plants draw hot fluid (geothermal brine) from underground reservoirs to the surface to produce steam. This steam then drives turbines that generate electricity.

Geo Program Project Locations (Geothermal Program Project Locations): Estimated location of each project funded by the Geothermal Grant and Loan Program (Geothermal Program). 

Geothermal Grant and Loan Program (Geothermal Program): The California Legislature established the program in 1980 under Public Resources Code sections 3800 et seq. 

CEC Geothermal Program funds the development of geothermal resources with money from the state’s Geothermal Resources Development Account (GRDA). GRDA receives funds collected by the federal government from royalty and lease payments by geothermal developers operating on federal land in California. Thirty percent of the account funds are available to the CEC’s Geothermal Program to promote and maintain development of California's vast geothermal energy and related activities. The Geothermal Program also focuses on mitigating any adverse impacts caused by geothermal development and related activities and helping local jurisdictions and private entities offset the costs of providing public services necessitated by geothermal development. Source: Geothermal Resources Development Account (GRDA) Law and Regulations  

Grant Number: A grant identification (ID) assigned by the CEC to uniquely identify a Geothermal Program project selected to receive a grant or loan.

Grant Recipient: Awarded recipient of the Geothermal Program.

Installed Power Capacity: The maximum energy generation capacity of a geothermal power plant, measured in megawatts (MW). It includes geothermal power plants located in a known geothermal resource area (KGRA). The CEC estimates the total installed capacity, or nameplate capacity, of all generators in operation as of 2021 that intersects with a geothermal field within 2 km.

KGRA (Known Geothermal Resource Area): A region identified by the U.S. Geological Survey as containing geothermal resources.

MW: Megawatts. 1000 kilowatts or 1 million watts of electrical power.

Project Period: The range of time from start year to end year of a project.

Project Title: Title of a Geothermal Program project.

Start Date: The year the power plant began operation.

Technical Power Capacity: An estimate of the potential geothermal power generation capacity available for geothermal development in a KGRA, measured in MW. CEC uses Williams et al. 2008 as reference to estimate the potential resource  from each geothermal field, except for Truckhaven geothermal field.

 

For more information on geothermal energy:

Program data last updated: January 28, 2025

Citing​
Please cite use of these data and images. California Energy Commission [Year]. California Energy Commission GRDA Project Locations Data last updated [insert date last updated]. Retrieved [insert date retrieved] from [Dashboard URL]​

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