World Power Plants

Bear Valley1.4 MW Hydroelectric

HydroRenewableVerified: Jul 2026

Bear Valley is a 1.4 MW hydroelectric power plant in the United States, operated by the City of Escondido since 1985. Ranked #1329 of 1469 hydro plants in the United States. Its 1.4 MW constitutes 0.0012% of the country’s total hydro capacity of 117,947 MW. The largest hydro plant in the United States is the Grand Coulee Dam at 6,809 MW, making Bear Valley 4,864 times smaller. Nearby plants include Encina Power Station (999.6 MW, Gas), Carlsbad Energy Center (659 MW, Gas), and Palomar Energy (559 MW, Gas). The facility is located in California, approximately 50 km from San Diego.

Capacity
1.4 MW
Commissioning Year
1985

41 years old

Owner
City of Escondido - (CA)
Location
33.1662°, -117.0166°

United States of America, North America

Context & rankings
  • 9,110. largest of 10,098 plants in United States of America
  • #36,302 worldwide by installed capacity
  • #7,813 of 8,493 Hydroelectric plants worldwide
Age & fleet comparison

41 years in operation

Hydroelectric fleet average: 42.1 years

Operator portfolio

City of Escondido - (CA) operates 1 plants totalling 1 MW

Regional density

158 plants within 100 km, 12,639 MW combined

Nearest plant: Valley Center 1 (7.7 km)

Location

Coordinates:: 33.166200, -117.016600
Open in Google Maps
Carbon Footprint

Zero Direct Emissions

Bear Valley is a hydro power plant producing approximately 5 GWh of clean electricity per year with zero direct CO₂ emissions during operation.

Lifecycle emissions: ~24 g CO₂/kWh (manufacturing, transport, decommissioning)

Technical Details

Primary Fuel Type
Hydro
Energy Source
Renewable
Country
United States of America
Continent
North America
Data Source
Global Power Plant Database

United States of AmericaEnergy Profile

10,098
Total Plants
1420.7 GW
Total Capacity
GasCoalNuclearWind
Top Fuels

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