Canoa — Dominican Republic

Canoa is a 25 MW solar power plant in Barahona, Dominican Republic. It is operated by Polaris Renewable Energy [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 11k homes (estimated). It ranks #30 of 30 Dominican Republic power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2020, it is around 6 years old — recently built. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 9.9% of Dominican Republic's electricity; the national grid averages 537 gCO₂/kWh (23.8% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WKS0069262.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000807145; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as PV. Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

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

Key facts

Share of Dominican Republic solar capacity

16.1% of 155 MW across 3 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 solar plants in Dominican Republic

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

Owner

Operated by Polaris Renewable Energy [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 18.4°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.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 1.0% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion 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 #3 largest solar power plant of 3 in Dominican Republic by capacity.

Dominican Republic has 3 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 155 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Barahona power station · Coal · 52 MW · Barahona
• Powership Azua power station · Gas · 176.6 MW · Azua
• Monte Rio · Oil · 101.4 MW · Azua
• Los Cocos 2 · Wind · 52 MW · Pedernales
• Palomino 1 · Hydro · 81.6 MW · San Juan
• Jiguey 1 · Hydro · 49.5 MW · San Cristobal

Location

Coordinates 18.363, -71.157 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions