New Melones

OperatingHydro

Ranked #9 of 247 Hydro plants in CA#69 of 1454 nationally

300 MW Hydro operating in Tuolumne, CA — Balancing Authority of Northern California

EIAGEMWD

300 MW

Nameplate Capacity

Generators

units

Conventional Hydroelectric

Technology

1979

Operating Since

Location

Coordinates

37.9469, -120.5282

County

Tuolumne, CA

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Ownership & Operator

Owner data does not fully agree across sources.

EIA typically reports the operating utility, while GEM resolves to the financial owner or parent corporation. Both can be correct.

Field	EIA	GEM	Wikidata
Operator	U S Bureau of Reclamation	US Bureau of Reclamation	—
Owner(s)	U S Bureau of Reclamation	US Bureau of Reclamation [100%]	—
Status	Operating	operating	—

Ownership Chain

GEM identifies the owner as US Bureau of Reclamation [100%]

This entity is not yet in the GEM ownership database — chain unavailable.

About

New Melones Dam is an earth and rock filled embankment dam on the Stanislaus River, about 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Jamestown, California, United States, on the border of Calaveras County and Tuolumne County. The water impounded by the 625-foot-tall (191 m) dam forms New Melones Lake, California's fourth-largest reservoir, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada east of the San Joaquin Valley. The dam serves mainly for irrigation water supply, and also provides hydropower generation, flood control, and recreation benefits.

Read more on Wikipedia

Located in Tuolumne County, California, New Melones is a 300 MW hydroelectric power plant that began operating in 1979. The plant utilizes conventional hydroelectric technology and is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It consists of two generators and uses water (WAT) as its primary fuel source. New Melones is connected to the Balancing Authority of Northern California and operates within the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region.

In terms of its size and output, New Melones ranks as the 9th largest out of 42 hydroelectric plants in California, and 69th nationally out of 194 plants. The plant's latest annual generation was 270,595 MWh, resulting in a capacity factor of 10.3%.

Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources

Wikipedia EIA Plant Profile Wikidata Global Energy Monitor

Engineering & Generators

Grid Context

NERC Region

WECC

Balancing Authority

Balancing Authority of Northern California

Grid Voltage

230 kV

Regulatory Status

Entity Type

Federal

Sector

Electric Utility

Generation

4.0K MWh

Latest Month

270.6K MWh

Annual Generation

10.3%

Capacity Factor

Jan 2023 – Dec 2025

Financial Data

No financial data available for this plant.

Pricing & Market Data

This plant is outside organized wholesale electricity markets (ISOs/RTOs). Nodal pricing data is not available.

News & Articles (10)Beta

Industry·other

Central Valley, Fresno-area’s best fishing: New Melones trout, Delta stripers, more

For Dec. 17, our experts report: Shaver Lake producing mixed limits. New Melones trout hitting. Delta stripers and sturgeon on a tear.

Fresno Bee·3 months ago

Industry·other

Central California fishing report Nov. 12: Delta stripers and sturgeon biting

Weekly Central California fishing report covering Fresno, Millerton Lake, Don Pedro, Isabella and more with lake conditions, trout plants...

Fresno Bee·4 months ago

Industry·other

Golden mussels discovered during inspections at Folsom and Berryessa, Some calling for a ‘false flag’

Golden mussels were found on boats during inspections at Lake Berryessa and Folsom Lake within the past two weeks, but there are those in the boating community...

Western Outdoor News·10 months ago