Chestnut — Plant Summary
- EIA Plant ID
- 63849
- Capacity
- 285.6 MW
- Primary Fuel
- Solar
- Technology
- Batteries, Solar Photovoltaic
- Status
- Operating
- Location
- Kings, CA
- Operating Since
- 2023
- Generators
- 2
- Operator
- Castanea Project LLC
- Parent Company
- —
- Annual Generation
- 377,844 MWh
- Capacity Factor
- 15.1%
- Balancing Authority
- California Independent System Operator
- ISO/RTO
- CAISO
- NERC Region
- WECC
Chestnut
OperatingBESSSolarHybrid
Ranked #31 of 963 Solar plants in CA#159 of 7447 nationally
285.6 MW Batteries (135 MW) + Solar Photovoltaic (151 MW) operating in Kings, CA — California Independent System Operator
EIAGEM
285.6 MW
Nameplate Capacity
2
Generators
units
Hybrid (2)
Technology
Batteries + Solar Photovoltaic
2023
Operating Since
Location
Coordinates
36.1602, -119.9049
County
Kings, CA
Nearby Plants
- South Cheyenne SolarSolar150 MW · 1.2 km
- Solar BlueBESS475 MW · 1.5 km
- GrapeSolar246.4 MW · 1.6 km
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 | Castanea Project LLC | Westland Holdings | — |
| Owner(s) | Castanea Project LLC | CIM Group; Westland Holdings Inc | — |
| Status | Operating | operating | — |
Ownership Chain
GEM identifies the owner as CIM Group; Westland Holdings Inc
This entity is not yet in the GEM ownership database — chain unavailable.
About
The Chestnut power plant, located in Kings County, California, is a hybrid solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) facility with a total capacity of 285.6 MW. Operated by Castanea Project LLC, the plant began commercial operation in 2023 and ranks as the 42nd largest power plant in California (out of 112) and 175th nationally (out of 514). The facility utilizes both solar photovoltaic technology with single-axis tracking and lithium-ion battery storage. The BESS component has a storage capacity of 540 MWh and a duration of 4 hours. The plant's primary fuel type is listed as "MWH" in the data.
Chestnut operates within the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authority and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) NERC region. In its latest year of operation, the plant generated 377,844 MWh, achieving a capacity factor of 15.1%. Financial data indicates that the plant has a power purchase agreement (PPA) price of $45.03 per MWh, according to data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The plant consists of 2 generators.
Generated from EIA, GEM, and public data sources
Engineering & Generators
Grid Context
NERC Region
WECC
Balancing Authority
California Independent System Operator
Grid Voltage
230 kV
Regulatory Status
NR
Entity Type
Independent Power Producer
Sector
IPP Non-CHP
Generation
5.7K MWh
Latest Month
377.8K MWh
Annual Generation
15.1%
Capacity Factor
Financial DataBeta
Source: LBNL Utility-Scale SolarHIGH
$29.2/MWh
LCOE (Levelized Cost)
$45.0/MWh
PPA Price
$3.1/MWh
Energy Value
Pricing & Market Data
HIGH confidenceMarket Position
ISO/RTO Market
CAISO
LMP Node
SOLBLU_7_NSR1
Pricing Hub
TH_ZP26_GEN-APND
Location Type
Pricing Node
Node Source
Curated node match
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