French Meadows — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 424
- Capacity
- 15.3 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Placer, CA
- Operating Since
- 1966
- Generators
- 1
- Operator
- Placer County Water Agency
- Parent Company
- —
- Annual Generation
- 50,835 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 37.7%
- Balancing Authority
- California Independent System Operator
- ISO/RTO
- CAISO
- NERC Region
- WECC
French Meadows
OperatingHydro
Ranked #100 of 247 Hydro plants in CA#536 of 1454 nationally
15.3 MW Hydro operating in Placer, CA — California Independent System Operator
EIAWD
15.3 MW
Nameplate Capacity
1
Generators
unit
Conventional Hydroelectric
Technology
1966
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
39.0780, -120.4061
County
Placer, CA
Nearby Plants
- Loon LakeHydro74.1 MW · 12.7 km
- Middle ForkHydro122.4 MW · 17.5 km
- Robbs PeakHydro25.5 MW · 20.3 km
Ownership & Operator
| Field | EIA | GEM | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Placer County Water Agency | — | — |
| Owner(s) | Placer County Water Agency | — | — |
| Status | Operating | — | — |
Ownership Chain
No GEM tracker match for this plant — ownership chain unavailable.
About
French Meadows is a hydroelectric power plant located in Placer County, California. The plant has a total capacity of 15.3 MW and began operating in 1966. It is owned and operated by the Placer County Water Agency. The plant utilizes a single generator and conventional hydroelectric technology, drawing its primary fuel from water (WAT). French Meadows ranks 100th out of 247 power plants in California and 546th out of 1464 plants nationally.
The plant operates within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. In the most recent year with available data, French Meadows generated 50,835 MWh of electricity, achieving a capacity factor of 37.7%.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
California Independent System Operator
Grid Voltage
60 kV
Regulatory Status
RE
Entity Type
Political Subdivision
Sector
Electric Utility
Generation
403 MWh
Latest Month
50.8K MWh
Annual Generation
37.7%
Capacity Factor
Jan 2022 – Dec 2024
Financial Data
No financial data available for this plant.
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidencePoint of Interconnection
Nearest Substation
French Meadows
Substation Distance
0.007 km
Coord Source
OSM spatial
Market Position
ISO/RTO Market
CAISO
LMP Node
POD_FMEADO_7_UNIT-APND
Pricing Hub
TH_NP15_GEN-APND
Location Type
Aggregated Node
Node Source
Curated node match
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