LOON LAKE
OperatingHydro power plant
- Capacity
- 74 MW
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- County
- El Dorado County
- Operator
- SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTIL DIST
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1971
- EIA plant ID
- 432
- Generators
- 1
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Net generation (2024)
- 63.2 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 9.7%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 38.9827, -120.3245
LOON LAKE, a 74 MW Hydro power plant in El Dorado County, California. Operated by SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTIL DIST, commissioned 1971.
How LOON LAKE compares
With 74 MW of capacity, LOON LAKE ranks 200th among the 874 operating power plants Bywatts maps in California and 51st of the 195 operating Hydro plants in the state. It accounts for about 0.5% of California's operating Hydro capacity and 0.1% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 223rd-largest of the 1,243 operating Hydro plants in the database. Commissioned in 1971, it is older than 85% of the 859 operating California plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTIL DIST, runs 14 operating plants in California totaling 2,070 MW. It shares El Dorado County with 8 other operating plants, including WHITE ROCK/SLAB CREEK and JAYBIRD.
EIA-860 lists 1 generator at the site with 74 MW of nameplate capacity, all conventional hydroelectric technology. Net generation was 63.2 GWh in 2024 (a 9.7% capacity factor).
Grid neighborhood
The nearest named substation is LOON LAKE (230 kV), about 0.2 miles away; the closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 230 kV line owned by PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY, about 0.2 miles away. Another 11 operating power plants totaling 663 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is JAYBIRD (162 MW, Hydro).
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant, substation and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
LOON LAKE is a 74 MW hydro power plant in El Dorado County, CA, operated by SACRAMENTO MUNICIPAL UTIL DIST, commissioned in 1971. El Dorado County carries low modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 1.5 of 5 at the 14th national percentile. Wildfire is the leading peril, rated Relatively High by FEMA at the 98th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a hydro plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
El Dorado County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively High | 98th | 4.9 of 5 | 0.01 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 86th | 4.4 of 5 | 0.02 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 77th | 4.1 of 5 | 1.1 |
| Heat wave | Relatively Low | 61st | 3.4 of 5 | 4.4 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 6th | 1.2 of 5 | 0.15 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Low | 4th | 1.1 of 5 | 0.07 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 3rd | 1.1 of 5 | 28.5 |
| Lightning | Relatively Moderate | 3rd | 1.1 of 5 | 14.4 |
| Hail | Very Low | 1st | 1.0 of 5 | 0.16 |
Perils not assessed in El Dorado 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 |
| Coastal flooding | 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 El Dorado 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.