Hecate Energy Beacon Solar 3
Kern County, California · EIA plant ID 59316 · Operator: AES Distributed Energy
Nameplate56MWSummer 51 MW
Generators1in service
Net generation115GWh12 mo to Aug 2026
Capacity factor26%solar units, summer MW
Heat rate—thermal plants only
First online2016
The 12-month figures include preliminary EIA-923 months, which EIA revises. Final data runs through Dec 2025.
Monthly net generation
EIA-923, all units at the plant. Net of station use; storage can go negative.
FinalPreliminary
Capacity factor by year
Net MWh ÷ (summer MW × hours), solar units. Each year uses that year's EIA-860 ratings; the hollow dot is the latest 12 months.
Heat rate by year
Electric fuel MMBtu × 1000 ÷ net MWh (Btu/kWh, HHV), fossil units only; CT + CA counted as one combined-cycle block.
Heat rate applies to fuel-burning (thermal) units only.
Annual data table
| Year | Net GWh | Capacity factor | Heat rate (Btu/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 7.2% | — |
| 2017 | 132 | 26.9% | — |
| 2018 | 143 | 32.0% | — |
| 2019 | 138.2 | 30.9% | — |
| 2020 | 138.4 | 30.9% | — |
| 2021 | 139.5 | 31.2% | — |
| 2022 | 141 | 31.6% | — |
| 2023 | 134.4 | 30.1% | — |
| 2024 | 132.2 | 29.5% | — |
| 2025 | 122.1 | 27.3% | — |
Generators
EIA-860 (annual) with EIA-860M updates through Sep 2026. EIA-923 reports generation by plant, prime mover and fuel, not by unit, so unit-level output isn't shown.
| Gen ID | Technology | Prime mover | Nameplate MW | Summer MW | Online | Status | Planned retirement | OEM / model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEAC3 | Solar Photovoltaic | PV | 56 | 51 | Dec 2016 | Operating | — | coming soon |
Owner / operator
Operator: AES Distributed Energy. Ownership shares by in-service nameplate MW (EIA-860 Schedule 4; units not listed there are wholly owned by the operator).
| AES Distributed Energy | 100.0% | 56 MW |
Nearby plants
Within 80 km.
| Hecate Energy Beacon Solar 4 | 50 MW | 1.1 km |
| Beacon BESS 1 | 20 MW | 1.2 km |
| Hecate Energy Beacon Solar 1 | 56 MW | 1.8 km |
| Beacon Solar Plant Site 5 | 38 MW | 1.8 km |
| Beacon Solar Plant Site 2 | 47 MW | 2 km |
| Springbok Solar Farm 2 | 155 MW | 3.5 km |