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Cartagena Refinery power station

Gas power plant in Murcia, Spain. Approximate location 37.7043, -1.0999.

GasMurciaSpainCCGT · HRSGCO₂ modelled

Cartagena Refinery power station is a 95 MW gas power plant in Murcia, Spain. It is operated by SABIC Innovative Plastics España SA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 107k homes (estimated). It ranks #138 of 899 Spain power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2002, it is around 24 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 74,168 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 17k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 21.6% of Spain's electricity; the national grid averages 154 gCO₂/kWh (74.6% low-carbon) (2025).

95Source-backed capacity
1HRSG unit(s)
106,997homes powered (est.)
74,168t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2002commissioned (~24 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-272.

Data status

Known data

FacilityCartagena Refinery power station Climate TRACE
CountrySpain · Murcia Climate TRACE
Coordinates37.7043, -1.0999 Climate TRACE
FuelGas Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity95 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerSABIC Innovative Plastics España SA Climate TRACE
Commissioned2002 Climate TRACE
TechnologyCCGT · HRSG Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions74,168 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#138 of 899 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#41 of 95 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.76× · 54 MW median · 95 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent106,997 calculated
Climate17.6°C · HDD 962 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 54/100 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 operating-unit sum (location L100000400665); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 95 MW, Cartagena Refinery power station is well above the median gas plant in Spain (54 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

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

~74,168 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

17kpassenger cars driven for a year
9.7khomes' yearly energy use
1.2 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Spain

BESOS GRUPO 5: 1,671 MW2kBESOS GRU…ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA GRUPO 1: 1,585 MW2kARCOS DE L…CARTAGENA GRUPO 1: 1,249 MW1kCARTAGENA …Cartagena (Escombreras) power station: 1,249 MW1kCartagena …CCC SAGUNTO GRUPO 2: 1,232 MW1kCCC SAGUNT…ESCOMBRERAS GRUPO 1: 1,199 MW1kESCOMBRERA…El Fangal power station: 1,199 MW1kEl Fangal …PALOS DE LA FRONTERA GRUPO 1: 1,167 MW1kPALOS DE L…

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

Owner

Operated by SABIC Innovative Plastics España SA.

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 37.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

17.6°Cannual mean temp
962heating degree-days (base 18°C)
835cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
165 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 10 °CJF: 12 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 15 °CAM: 19 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 19 °CON: 14 °CND: 11 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 61% 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: 26/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~2% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, 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

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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
54/100environmental-severity index
15.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
25 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 #41 largest gas power plant of 95 in Spain by capacity.

Spain has 95 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 32,018 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 37.7043, -1.0999 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Cartagena Refinery power station?

Cartagena Refinery power station is a 95 MW source-record gas power plant in Murcia, Spain, commissioned in 2002.

How many homes can Cartagena Refinery power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 106,997 homes (estimated).

Who operates Cartagena Refinery power station?

Cartagena Refinery power station is operated by SABIC Innovative Plastics España SA.

How much CO₂ does Cartagena Refinery power station emit?

Cartagena Refinery power station has modelled emissions of about 74,168 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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