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Bulgueira

Wind power plant in Vila Real, Portugal. Approximate location 41.5289, -7.7193.

WindVila RealPortugal

Bulgueira is a 2 MW wind power plant in Vila Real, Portugal. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 2.0k homes (estimated). It ranks #355 of 480 Portugal power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2003, it is around 23 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, wind supplies about 26.7% of Portugal's electricity; the national grid averages 128 gCO₂/kWh (81.0% low-carbon) (2025).

2Legacy source-record capacity
2,042homes powered (est.)
2003commissioned (~23 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023305.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBulgueira WRI
CountryPortugal · Vila Real WRI
Coordinates41.5289, -7.7193 WRI
FuelWind WRI
MW installed capacity2 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned2003 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#355 of 480 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#193 of 224 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.21× · 12 MW median · 224 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent2,042 calculated
Climate11.7°C · HDD 2,373 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 29/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

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 2 MW, Bulgueira is below the median wind plant in Portugal (12 MW). Wind turbines convert moving air into electricity; output is variable and site-dependent, and modern turbines deliver some of the lowest-cost new generation on many grids.

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

Capacity vs largest wind plants in Portugal

Alto Minho I: 240 MW240Alto Minho…Alto Douro: 216 MW216Alto DouroAlto da Coutada: 188 MW188Alto da Co…Pinhal Interior: 157 MW157Pinhal Int…Gardunha: 135 MW135GardunhaPenamacor: 132 MW132PenamacorTerras Altas de Fafe: 124 MW124Terras Alt…Toutiço: 124 MW124Toutiço

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

Local climate & thermal context

This wind plant converts the kinetic energy of wind into electricity through turbine rotors. It sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 41.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

11.7°Cannual mean temp
2,373heating degree-days (base 18°C)
77cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
789 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 5 °CJF: 6 °CFM: 8 °CMA: 10 °CAM: 12 °CMJ: 17 °CJJ: 19 °CJA: 19 °CAS: 17 °CSO: 12 °CON: 8 °CND: 6 °CD19 °C

Heating degree-days here run 3% 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: 49/100 — this site sits in the mid 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)
29/100environmental-severity index
14.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
101 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 #193 largest wind power plant of 224 in Portugal by capacity.

Portugal has 224 wind power plants in this dataset, together about 5,055 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 41.5289, -7.7193 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Bulgueira?

Bulgueira is a 2 MW source-record wind power plant in Vila Real, Portugal, commissioned in 2003.

How many homes can Bulgueira power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 2,042 homes (estimated).

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