Bonthe Works — Sierra Leone
Oil power plant in Southern Province, Sierra Leone. Approximate location 7.7675, -12.2931.
OilSouthern ProvinceSierra Leone
Bonthe Works is a 23 MW oil power plant in Southern Province, Sierra Leone. It is operated by Sierra Rutile Limited. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 17k homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 3 Sierra Leone power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 4.8% of Sierra Leone's electricity; the national grid averages 48 gCO₂/kWh (95.2% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023164.
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: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
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 Sierra Leone oil capacity
- 30.3% of 76 MW across 2 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 oil plants in Sierra Leone
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Sierra Rutile Limited.
Local climate & thermal context
This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 7.8°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 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 #2 largest oil power plant of 2 in Sierra Leone by capacity.
Sierra Leone has 2 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 76 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Kingtom · Oil · 53 MW · Western Area
- Bumbuna Dam · Hydro · 50 MW · Northern Province
- Mount Coffee · Hydro · 60 MW · Montserrado
Location
Coordinates 7.7675, -12.2931 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Bonthe Works?
Bonthe Works is a 23 MW oil power plant in Southern Province, Sierra Leone.
Who operates Bonthe Works?
Bonthe Works is operated by Sierra Rutile Limited.