French Meadows— 15.3 MW Hydroelectric
French Meadows is a 15.3 MW hydro power plant in the United States, operated by Placer County Water Agency since 1966. Ranked #550 of 1,469 hydro plants in the United States, French Meadows' 15.3 MW represents 0.01% of the country's total hydro capacity of 117,947 MW. The largest hydro plant in the United States is Grand Coulee Dam at 6,809 MW, making French Meadows 444.5 times smaller. Nearby plants include White Rock/Slab Creek (266.5 MW, Hydro), Jaybird (161.6 MW, Hydro), and Camino (157.8 MW, Hydro). The facility is located in California, approximately 160 km northeast of Sacramento.
60 years old
United States of America, North America
- 4,316. largest of 10,098 plants in United States of America
- #21,132 worldwide by installed capacity
- #4,875 of 8,493 Hydroelectric plants worldwide
60 years in operation
Hydroelectric fleet average: 42.1 years
Placer County Water Agency operates 4 plants totalling 223 MW
94 plants within 100 km, 5,315 MW combined
Location
Zero Direct Emissions
French Meadows is a hydro power plant producing approximately 54 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 America — Energy Profile
Nearby Power Plants
See Incorrect or Missing Data?
Help us improve our database by reporting any corrections or updates. Your contribution helps keep our global power plant data accurate and up-to-date.