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Ankerlig

Oil power plant in Western Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -33.592, 18.4607.

OilWestern CapeSouth AfricaCO₂ reported

Ankerlig is a 1,327 MW oil power station in Western Cape, South Africa. It is operated by Eskom. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 996,387 homes (estimated). It ranks #14 of 122 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2007, it is around 19 years old — relatively modern. Its measured emissions of 592,840 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 138,191 cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 0.8% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).

1,327MW installed capacity
996,387homes powered (est.)
592,840t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2007commissioned (~19 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000116.

592,840 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

138,191passenger cars driven for a year
77,314homes' yearly energy use
9,880,667tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in South Africa

Ankerlig: 1,327 MW1kAnkerligGourikwa: 740 MW740GourikwaDedisa power station: 335 MW335Dedisa pow…

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

Owner

Operated by Eskom. 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 warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 33.6°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

17.3°Cannual mean temp
705heating degree-days (base 18°C)
432cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
101 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 21 °CMA: 18 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 13 °CJJ: 12 °CJA: 13 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 17 °CON: 19 °CND: 21 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 71% 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.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #1 largest oil power plant of 3 in South Africa by capacity.

South Africa has 3 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 2,402 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -33.592, 18.4607 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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