Acajutla Thermal Power Plant El Salvador

Acajutla Thermal Power Plant El Salvador is a 324 MW oil power station in Sonsonate, El Salvador. It is operated by Orazul Energy El Salvador S en C de CV [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 243k homes (estimated). It ranks #1 of 19 El Salvador power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1999, it is around 27 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 13.5% of El Salvador's electricity; the national grid averages 139 gCO₂/kWh (86.5% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEODB0043614.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as Engine. Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of El Salvador oil capacity

56.9% of 570 MW across 3 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 3 dated oil plants in El Salvador is older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest oil plants in El Salvador

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Orazul Energy El Salvador S en C de CV [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 13.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #1 largest oil power plant of 3 in El Salvador by capacity.

El Salvador has 3 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 570 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Los Remedios · Solar · 25 MW · Sonsonate
• Cenérgica Power Station · Coal · 150 MW · Sonsonate
• Trinidad / Marquez · Solar · 18 MW · Sonsonate
• Ahuachapan Geothermal Power Plant El Salvador · Geothermal · 95 MW · Ahuachapan
• Talnique power station · Oil · 102 MW · Chalatenango
• Nejapa IC Power Plant El Salvador · Oil · 143.9 MW · San Salvador

Location

Coordinates 13.5834, -89.8239 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions