Barcarena Vale power station — Brazil
Coal power plant in Pará, Brazil. Approximate location -1.505833, -48.625833.
CoalParáBrazilsubcritical
Barcarena Vale power station is a 600 MW coal power station in Pará, Brazil. It is operated by Vale SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 751k homes (estimated). It ranks #86 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. In context, coal supplies about 2.3% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_barcarenavale_brazi.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT
In context: how this plant compares
At 600 MW, Barcarena Vale power station is well above the median coal plant in Brazil (262 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Key facts
- Share of Brazil coal capacity
- 6.3% of 9,486 MW across 30 plants in this dataset
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest coal plants in Brazil
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Vale SA [100%].
Local climate & thermal context
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 1.5°S — 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 a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness 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 #5 largest coal power plant of 30 in Brazil by capacity.
Brazil has 30 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 9,486 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Albrás · Oil · 4.85 MW · Para
- Vila do Conde power station · Gas · 2,310 MW · Pará
- Alunorte · Coal · 103.9 MW · Para
- Novo Tempo Barcarena III power station · Gas · 421.4 MW · Pará
- Novo Tempo Barcarena power station · Gas · 624 MW · Pará
- Portocém power station · Gas · 1,576 MW · Pará
Location
Coordinates -1.505833, -48.625833 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Barcarena Vale power station?
Barcarena Vale power station is a 600 MW coal power plant in Pará, Brazil.
Who operates Barcarena Vale power station?
Barcarena Vale power station is operated by Vale SA [100%].