AL-JOUF

AL-JOUF is a 348 MW oil power station in Al Jawf, Saudi Arabia. It is operated by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 261k homes (estimated). It ranks #86 of 156 Saudi Arabia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2012, it is around 14 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 1,206,080 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 281k cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 34.5% of Saudi Arabia's electricity; the national grid averages 692 gCO₂/kWh (2.2% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1030640.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000409125); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 348 MW, AL-JOUF is around the median oil plant in Saudi Arabia (365 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.

~1,206,080 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Saudi Arabia

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

Owner

Operated by Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 29.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 70% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 23/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

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 #39 largest oil power plant of 76 in Saudi Arabia by capacity.

Saudi Arabia has 76 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 61,625 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• ARAR · Oil · 409 MW · Northern Borders

Location

Coordinates 29.78, 40.012 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions