James B Black
Hydro power plant in Shasta County, California. 168.6 MW of nameplate capacity across 2 generators, operated by Pacific Gas & Electric Co..
Also known as James B Black Powerhouse · EIA plant 249
Analyst: free account, 1 question a day.
Key facts
- Capacity
- 168.6 MWNameplate
- Generators
- 2 operatingEIA-860M, August 2026
- Operating since
- December 1965First generator online
- Operator
- Pacific Gas & Electric Co.EIA operator ID 14328
- Grid
- CAISOBalancing authority CISO
- Price nodes
- 2 CAISO nodesResource nodes with prices
- Location
- Shasta County, CA40.9923, −121.9752
- EIA plant ID
- 249EIA plant page
Data as of EIA-860M August 2026 (published 2026-09-24). Capacity is nameplate, not live output.
How much power James B Black produces
Free · EIA-923Net generation, 2025
668 GWh
668,423 MWh, final
Capacity factor, 2025
45.3%
2024: 27.3%
January to July 2026
267 GWh
Provisional
Range, 2015 to 2025
310.7–770.3
GWh a year. Low 2022, high 2017
| Year | Net generation, MWh | Capacity factor | Months reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 771,215 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2001 | 611,669 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2002 | 629,839 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2003 | 717,921 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2004 | 690,816 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2005 | 704,284 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2006 | 792,968 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2007 | 633,276 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2008 | 461,596 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2009 | 578,216 | Not reported | 12 of 12 |
| 2010 | 714,470 | 48.4% | 12 of 12 |
| 2011 | 735,567 | 49.8% | 12 of 12 |
| 2012 | 626,587 | 42.3% | 12 of 12 |
| 2013 | 534,995 | 36.2% | 12 of 12 |
| 2014 | 434,190 | 29.4% | 12 of 12 |
| 2015 | 398,101 | 27.0% | 12 of 12 |
| 2016 | 587,264 | 39.7% | 12 of 12 |
| 2017 | 770,260 | 52.2% | 12 of 12 |
| 2018 | 543,811 | 36.8% | 12 of 12 |
| 2019 | 679,587 | 46.0% | 12 of 12 |
| 2020 | 449,611 | 30.4% | 12 of 12 |
| 2021 | 367,761 | 24.9% | 12 of 12 |
| 2022 | 310,697 | 21.0% | 12 of 12 |
| 2023 | 390,129 | 26.4% | 12 of 12 |
| 2024 | 404,659 | 27.3% | 12 of 12 |
| 2025 | 668,423 | 45.3% | 12 of 12 |
| 2026 (provisional, partial year) | 267,459 | 31.2% | 7 of 7 |
* 2026 covers January to July and is provisional. Capacity factor is net generation divided by nameplate capacity times the hours of each reported month.
Power prices and basis
Free account · CAISOEmissions
Free · EPA CAMPDNo EPA emissions units are linked to this plant.
Water use
Free · EIA-923 cooling, USGSNo EIA cooling-water record for this plant in 2024. Plants without steam cooling, such as wind, solar and batteries, do not report cooling water.
Generators
Free · EIA-860M| Generator | Technology | Nameplate MW | Online since |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 85.1 | February 1966 |
| 2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 83.5 | December 1965 |
Ownership and offtake
ProOwnership and offtake are part of Pro
Owners and their shares, parent companies, and power purchase agreements with their buyers. EIA-860M lists Pacific Gas & Electric Co. as the operator, which is not always the owner.
Modeled data
ProPro adds modeled values for this plant. Everything above stays free.
300 analyst questions a month, plus MCP
Query James B Black and 14,224 other projects from Claude or your own tools. Free accounts get 1 question a day.
Power plants near James B Black
More plants operated by Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Questions about James B Black
How much power does James B Black produce?
James B Black reported 668,423 MWh (668 GWh) of net generation in 2025, a 45.3% capacity factor on 168.6 MW of nameplate capacity. From January to July 2026 it reported 267 GWh, which is provisional.
Where is James B Black?
James B Black is in Shasta County, California, at 40.9923, −121.9752. It is in the California Independent System Operator balancing area (CISO).
Who operates James B Black?
EIA-860M for August 2026 lists Pacific Gas & Electric Co. as the operator (EIA operator ID 14328). The operator is not always the owner.
When did James B Black start operating?
Its first generator began operating in December 1965, according to EIA-860M.
Does InfraMap have power prices for James B Black?
Yes. InfraMap has CAISO day-ahead and real-time prices at 2 price nodes linked to James B Black, with the hub price and node-to-hub basis. Prices are free with an InfraMap account; pricing node names are part of InfraMap Pro.
Sources
- EIA-860 2025 (final) and EIA-860M August 2026: plant, generators, capacity, operator and location
- EIA-923 monthly net generation, 2000 to July 2026 (2026 provisional)
- CAISO day-ahead and real-time prices; node and hub assignments as of 2026-10-05
- Plant names from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
Page updated 2026-10-04 from the InfraMap data build. Methodology · Data sources · EIA plant page