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Alvorada

Biomass power plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Approximate location -21.3049, -46.8541.

BiomassMinas GeraisBrazil

Alvorada is a 8 MW biomass power plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 11k homes (estimated). It ranks #1426 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2002, it is around 24 years old — relatively modern. In context, biomass supplies about 7.3% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

8Legacy source-record capacity
11,012homes powered (est.)
2002commissioned (~24 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0028580.

Data status

Known data

FacilityAlvorada WRI
CountryBrazil · Minas Gerais WRI
Coordinates-21.3049, -46.8541 WRI
FuelBiomass WRI
MW installed capacity8 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned2002 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1426 of 2572 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#343 of 547 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.53× · 15 MW median · 547 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent11,012 calculated
Climate19.9°C · HDD 118 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 30/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 8 MW, Alvorada is below the median biomass plant in Brazil (15 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.

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

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in Brazil

Bracell Star power station: 420 MW420Bracell St…Klabin Celulose: 330 MW330Klabin Cel…Suzano Maranhão: 255 MW255Suzano Mar…CMPC (Antiga Aracruz Unidade Guaíba): 251 MW251CMPC (Anti…Eldorado Brasil: 226 MW226Eldorado B…Suzano Mucuri (Antiga Bahia Sul): 214 MW214Suzano Muc…Aracruz: 210 MW210AracruzFS Primavera power station: 191 MW191FS Primave…

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

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a humid subtropical (dry winter) climate (Köppen Cwa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 21.3°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

19.9°Cannual mean temp
118heating degree-days (base 18°C)
805cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
842 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 22 °CMA: 20 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 16 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 21 °CON: 22 °CND: 22 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 95% 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: 15/100 — 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
30/100environmental-severity index
6.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
294 kmdistance to coast

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 #343 largest biomass power plant of 547 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 547 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 17,205 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -21.3049, -46.8541 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Alvorada?

Alvorada is a 8 MW source-record biomass power plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil, commissioned in 2002.

How many homes can Alvorada power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 11,012 homes (estimated).

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