GILROY PEAKING ENERGY CENTER
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 135 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Santa Clara County
- Operator
- CALPINE GILROY COGEN LP
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2001
- EIA plant ID
- 55810
- Generators
- 3
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
- Net generation (2024)
- 23.3 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 1.8%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 36.9990, -121.5363
GILROY PEAKING ENERGY CENTER, a 135 MW Natural Gas power plant in Santa Clara County, California. Operated by CALPINE GILROY COGEN LP, commissioned 2001.
How GILROY PEAKING ENERGY CENTER compares
With 135 MW of capacity, GILROY PEAKING ENERGY CENTER ranks 121st among the 874 operating power plants Bywatts maps in California and 54th of the 190 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 0.4% of California's operating Natural Gas capacity and 0.2% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 622nd-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 2001, it is older than 55% of the 859 operating California plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, CALPINE GILROY COGEN LP, runs 2 operating plants in California totaling 265 MW. It shares Santa Clara County with 11 other operating plants, including METCALF ENERGY CENTER and LOS ESTEROS CRITICAL ENERGY CENTER.
EIA-860 lists 3 generators at the site with 144 MW of nameplate capacity, all natural gas fired combustion turbine technology. Net generation was 23.3 GWh in 2024 (a 1.8% capacity factor). Its generators came online between 2001 and 2002.
Grid neighborhood
The nearest named substation is GILROY FOOD, under 0.1 miles away; the closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 115 kV line owned by PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY, under 0.1 miles away. Another 9 operating power plants totaling 3,595 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is DYNEGY MOSS LANDING POWER PLANT (2,802 MW, Natural Gas). Within 50 miles are 22 mapped data centers; the nearest is Equinix SV1/SV5/SV10 - Silicon Valley, San Jose in San Jose, about 21.6 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant, substation and transmission line records, EIA-860/923 survey data and PeeringDB data center locations; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
GILROY PEAKING ENERGY CENTER is a 135 MW natural gas power plant in Santa Clara County, CA, operated by CALPINE GILROY COGEN LP, commissioned in 2001. Santa Clara County carries low modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 1.6 of 5 at the 14th national percentile. Earthquake is the leading peril, rated Very High by FEMA at the 99th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a natural gas plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Santa Clara County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Very High | 99th | 5.0 of 5 | 0.18 |
| Riverine flooding | Very High | 93rd | 4.7 of 5 | 2.1 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 89th | 4.6 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively High | 36th | 2.4 of 5 | 0.98 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 34th | 2.4 of 5 | 8.0 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 7th | 1.3 of 5 | 0.11 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 7th | 1.3 of 5 | 0.04 |
| Winter weather | Very Low | 4th | 1.2 of 5 | 1.1 |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | 1st | 1.0 of 5 | 3.8 |
| Strong wind | Very Low | 1st | 1.0 of 5 | 0.03 |
Perils not assessed in Santa Clara County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Hurricane | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
| Ice storm | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Santa Clara County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.