CHARCA
Substation-AdjacentKern County, California · CAISO
At a glance
CHARCA is a substation-adjacent datacenter candidate site in Kern County, California, scoring 47.4/100 DC Readiness — 73rd of 284 scored sites in the county. Its nearest substation is CHARCA (0 mi, 115 kV). It sits in the CAISO grid region and the PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO. service territory, where interconnection has averaged 7.6 years from request to operation. GridCensus catalogs 100 MW of candidate capacity here.
Power & interconnection
Speed to power
Deep queue and long historical waits — plan for a multi-year interconnection timeline and engage the utility early.
Connectivity
Site characteristics
Risk & environment
Location context
Regulatory climate
No notable statewide DC restriction on record; confirm local zoning and utility tariffs.
Site location
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How does CHARCA compare with other sites in Kern County?
CHARCA ranks 73rd of 284 scored candidate sites in Kern County. Its 47.4/100 is roughly in line with the county average of 45.7. It is roughly in line with the California average of 45.4 and about 11% below the national average of 53.2.
Against the California average, its strongest sub-score is power availability (56 vs 36) and its weakest is fiber connectivity (61 vs 66). Power and speed to power each carry 20% of the composite score, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.
How close is CHARCA to power, fiber and other datacenters?
The nearest mapped substation, CHARCA, is about 0 miles away and operates at 115 kV. The nearest located transmission bottleneck is 34930_MC FRLND_70.0_34932_WASCO _70.0_BR_1 _1 (CAISO), 3 miles away. For connectivity, the nearest internet exchange facility is H5 Data Centers San Luis Obispo at 78 miles. 12 fiber providers report service at the location in FCC broadband data. The closest operating datacenter on record is Digital West Data Center, 78 miles away.
What are the flood, water and hazard risks at CHARCA?
At the county level, FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kern County "Relatively High".
Full DC Readiness breakdown
All 13 weighted sub-scores (0–100) behind the composite DC Readiness score.
Nearby comparable sites
Other scored datacenter candidate sites in Kern County, ranked by DC Readiness.
| Site | Type | Voltage | Capacity | Queue wait | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WINDHUB | Substation-Adjacent | 500 kV | 1,000 MW | 7.6 yrs | 56.9 |
| WHIRLWIND | Substation-Adjacent | 500 kV | 1,000 MW | 7.6 yrs | 56.7 |
| MIDWAY | Substation-Adjacent | 500 kV | 1,000 MW | 7.6 yrs | 56.1 |
| UNKNOWN306810 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 7.6 yrs | 55.1 |
| UNKNOWN300111 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 7.6 yrs | 54.4 |
| UNKNOWN308953 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 7.6 yrs | 54.4 |
| WESTWIND | Substation-Adjacent | 230 kV | 300 MW | 7.6 yrs | 53.2 |
| ARBWIND | Substation-Adjacent | 230 kV | 300 MW | 7.6 yrs | 52.5 |
CHARCA: common questions
What is the DC Readiness score of CHARCA?
CHARCA scores 47.4/100 on the GridCensus DC Readiness scale, rated fair. It ranks 73rd of 284 scored sites in Kern County. The Kern County average is 45.7 and the California average is 45.4.
What is the nearest substation to CHARCA?
The nearest mapped substation is CHARCA, about 0 miles away, at 115 kV. GridCensus catalogs 100 MW of candidate capacity for the site.
Which electric utility serves CHARCA?
PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CO. (investor owned) holds the retail service territory that contains the site; its holding company is PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC CORPORATION.
What grid region is CHARCA in?
CHARCA is in the CAISO region. Projects interconnecting there have averaged a 7.6-year wait from queue request to operation.
How far is CHARCA from an internet exchange?
The nearest internet exchange facility is H5 Data Centers San Luis Obispo, about 78 miles away; 12 fiber providers report service at the location.
Related pages
About this data
Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published October 10, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: GridCensus, “CHARCA, Kern County, CA”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/california/kern-county/charca-5291479f (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.
Figures are screening estimates derived from public infrastructure data. Catalogued capacity reflects theoretical candidate capacity, not deliverable or committed interconnection. Confirm all values with the utility, ISO, and on-the-ground due diligence.
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