The power plant locations and characteristics are part of
the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) California Energy Infrastructure geospatial
data sets. The data is derived from the CEC’s QFER-1304
Power Plant Owner Reporting Database and is updated annually. Among other information, a number of identifying attributes are given for each power plant as
well as the generator units at each plant, their energy type, the total
nameplate capacity, and their owners and operators.
This California Power Plants data set has identical
information to the many tables making up the QFER data set, however this single
feature layer is derived by condensing several QFER tables into one. Some
fields of the original tables have been omitted, and point geometries,
determined by each plants’ address fields, have been appended for geospatial display.
Four new fields have been compiled from QFER’s Annual
Generation Table. These are listed and defined as:Nameplate Capacity (MW): The total nameplate
capacity from every unit that makes up the power plant, regardless of status Units: List of the unit names at each power
plant Primary Energy Source: A list of the primary
energy sources used by every generator at the plantLast Reported Year: The last year that the power
plant was recorded in the Annual
Generation Table.Primary Energy Source Descriptions:
Source
Type
Description
AB
Biomass
Agriculture
Crop Byproducts/Straw/Energy Crops
BAT
Battery
Battery
Storage - not to be counted as a primary fuel/energy source
BFG
Natural Gas
Blast
Furnace Gas
BIT
Coal
Bituminous
Coal
BLQ
Biomass
Black
Liquor
COL
Coal
Anthracite
Coal
DFO
Oil
Distillate
Fuel Oil (includes all Diesel and No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 Fuel Oils)
GAS
Oil
Gasoline
GEO
Geothermal
Geothermal
JF
Oil
Jet
Fuel
KER
Oil
Kerosene
LFG
Biomass
Landfill
Gas
LIG
Coal
Lignite
Coal
LWAT
Large Hydro
Large
Hydro
MSW
Biomass
Municipal
Solid Waste
N/A
Unspecified
Other,
non-specified
NA
Unspecified
Not
Available
NG
Natural Gas
Natural
Gas (Methane - Pipeline Weighted National Average w/ HHV 1,050 Btu/scf)
NUC
Nuclear
Nuclear
(Uranium, Plutonium, Thorium)
OBG
Biomass
Other
Biomass Gases (Digester Gas, Methane, and other biomass gases)
OBL
Biomass
Other
Biomass Liquid (Ethanol, Fish Oil, Liquid Acetonitrile Waste, Medical Waste,
Tall Oil, Waste Alcohol, and other Biomass not specified)
OBS
Biomass
Other
Biomass Solid (Animal Manure and Waste, Solid Byproducts, and other solid
biomass not specified)
OG
Natural Gas
Other
Gas (Butane, Coal Processes, Coke-Oven, Refinery, and other processes)
OGW
Biomass
Other
gases, waste products
OIL
Oil
Non-specified
oil products, may include distillate fuel oil
OTH
Other
Other
(Batteries, Chemicals, Coke Breeze, Hydrogen, Pitch, Sulfur, Tar Coal, and
miscellaneous technologies)
PC
Petroleum Coke
Petroleum
Coke (Solid)
PG
Natural Gas
Propane
PUR
Other
Purchased
Steam
RFO
Oil
Residual
Fuel Oil (includes No. 5 and No. 6 Fuel Oils and Bunker C Fuel Oil)
SC
Coal
Coal-based
Synfuel and include briquettes, pellets, or extrusions, which are formed by
binding materials and processes that recycle material
SLW
Biomass
Sludge
Waste (Waste Oil blended with Residual Fuel Oil)
SUB
Coal
Sub-bituminous
Coal
SUN
Solar
Solar
(Photovoltaic, Thermal)
SWAT
Small Hydro
Small
Hydro, Eligible Hydroelectric for RPS
TDF
Biomass
Tires
UNK
Unspecified
Other,
non specified
UNSP
Unspecified
Unspecified
WAT
Hydro (Large and
Small)
Water
(Conventional, Pumped Storage)
WC
Coal
Waste/Other
Coal (Anthracite Culm, Bituminous Gob, Fine Coal, Lignite Waste, Waste
Coal)
WDL
Biomass
Wood
Waste Liquids (Red Liquor, Sludge Wood, Spent Sulfite Liquor, and other wood
related liquids not
WDS
Biomass
Wood/Wood
Waste Solids (Paper Pellets, Railroad Ties, Utility Poles, Wood Chips, and
other wood solids)
WH
Waste Heat
Waste
Heat
WND
Wind
Wind
WO
Oil
Oil-Other
and Waste Oil (Butane (Liquid), Crude Oil, Liquid Byproducts, Oil Waste,
Propane (Liquid),
Re-refined
The purpose of this feature layer is to:Support the
CEC/Energy Assessments Division/Supply Analysis Office in electric generation
report;Support the
CEC/REAT by providing information on renewable power plant location and
capacity;Support the CEC/STEP/Engineering Office/Geo
Science in water management report;Support
CEC/STEP/Siting Office, Compliance Office, Environmental Office, Engineering
Office, and /Strategic Transmission Planning and Corridor Designation
Office by providing information on power plant location, capacity, fuel
type, operational status, CEC docket id, etc. Support the
CEC/STEP/Strategic Transmission Planning and Corridor Designation Office in
corridor study and transmission line siting; Support the
CEC staff's various analysis by providing general geographic reference
information;Enhance
communication between government agencies on emergency management, resource
management, economic development, and environmental study;Provide illustration of critical infrastructure
spatial data to the public or other agencies
