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Burnside

Oil power plant in Nova Scotia, Canada. Approximate location 44.7148, -63.61.

OilNova ScotiaCanada

Burnside is a 132 MW oil power station in Nova Scotia, Canada. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 99k homes (estimated). It ranks #228 of 1,211 Canada power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 1.2% of Canada's electricity; the national grid averages 191 gCO₂/kWh (77.0% low-carbon) (2025).

132Legacy source-record capacity
99,113homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CAN0002032.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBurnside WRI
CountryCanada · Nova Scotia WRI
Coordinates44.7148, -63.61 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity132 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions260,172 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#228 of 1211 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#4 of 9 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.21× · 109 MW median · 9 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent99,113 calculated
Climate6.6°C · HDD 4,144 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 35/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot 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 132 MW, Burnside is well above the median oil plant in Canada (109 MW). 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.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Canada

Coleson Cove: 1,050 MW1kColeson Co…Holyrood: 490 MW490HolyroodMillbank: 400 MW400MillbankBurnside: 132 MW132BurnsideCharlottetown Thermal Generating Station: 109 MW109Charlottet…Sainte Rose power station: 100 MW100Sainte Ros…Cap-aux-Meules: 66 MW66Cap-aux-Me…Victoria Junction: 66 MW66Victoria J…

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

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 44.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.6°Cannual mean temp
4,144heating degree-days (base 18°C)
7cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
57 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -5 °CJF: -5 °CFM: -1 °CMA: 4 °CAM: 9 °CMJ: 14 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 9 °CON: 4 °CND: -2 °CD18 °C

Heating degree-days here run 69% above 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: 86/100 — this site sits in the top 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)
35/100environmental-severity index
23.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
28 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 #4 largest oil power plant of 9 in Canada by capacity.

Canada has 9 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 2,463 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 44.7148, -63.61 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Burnside?

Burnside is a 132 MW source-record oil power plant in Nova Scotia, Canada.

How many homes can Burnside power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 99,113 homes (estimated).

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