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Cap-aux-Meules

Oil power plant in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Approximate location 47.3745, -61.8858.

OilPrince Edward IslandCanadaEngine

Cap-aux-Meules is a 66 MW oil power plant in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is operated by Hydro Quebec. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 50k homes (estimated). It ranks #366 of 1,211 Canada power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1952, it is around 74 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, oil supplies about 1.2% of Canada's electricity; the national grid averages 191 gCO₂/kWh (77.0% low-carbon) (2025).

66Source-backed capacity
49,556homes powered (est.)
1952commissioned (~74 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CAN1060135.

Data status

Known data

FacilityCap-aux-Meules WRI
CountryCanada · Prince Edward Island WRI
Coordinates47.3745, -61.8858 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity66 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerHydro Quebec WRI
Commissioned1952 WRI
TechnologyEngine WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions130,086 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#366 of 1211 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#7 of 9 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.61× · 109 MW median · 9 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent49,556 calculated
Climate4.8°C · HDD 4,782 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 35/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000408866); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 66 MW, Cap-aux-Meules is below the median oil plant in Canada (109 MW). Technically it is described as Engine. 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).

Owner

Operated by Hydro Quebec. All plants by this company →

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 47.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

4.8°Cannual mean temp
4,782heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
27 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -6 °CJF: -7 °CFM: -4 °CMA: 1 °CAM: 6 °CMJ: 11 °CJJ: 16 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 8 °CON: 3 °CND: -2 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 95% 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: 93/100 — 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
24.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
17 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 #7 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 47.3745, -61.8858 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Cap-aux-Meules?

Cap-aux-Meules is a 66 MW source-record oil power plant in Prince Edward Island, Canada, commissioned in 1952.

How many homes can Cap-aux-Meules power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 49,556 homes (estimated).

Who operates Cap-aux-Meules?

Cap-aux-Meules is operated by Hydro Quebec.

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