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CENTRAL BAHIA BLANCA (PIEDRA BUENA) SA

Coal power plant in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Approximate location -38.7872, -62.2536.

CoalBuenos AiresArgentina

CENTRAL BAHIA BLANCA (PIEDRA BUENA) SA is a 620 MW coal power station in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is operated by PAMPA ENERGIA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 775,885 homes (estimated). It ranks #18 of 236 Argentina power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1990, it is around 36 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 1.8% of Argentina's electricity; the national grid averages 346 gCO₂/kWh (41.6% low-carbon) (2025).

620MW installed capacity
775,885homes powered (est.)
1990commissioned (~36 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id ARG0000031.

~2,715,600 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

633,007passenger cars driven for a year
354,147homes' yearly energy use
45,260,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from installed capacity at a typical 50% load factor × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Argentina

COSTANERA: 1,982 MW2kCOSTANERASAN NICOLAS: 644 MW644SAN NICOLASCENTRAL BAHIA BLANCA (PIEDRA BUENA) SA: 620 MW620CENTRAL BA…PUERTO NUEVO: 589 MW589PUERTO NUE…CENTRAL TERMICA GÜEMES SA: 361 MW361CENTRAL TE…SORRENTO: 226 MW226SORRENTOPILAR ZANICHELLI: 216 MW216PILAR ZANI…NECOCHEA: 206 MW206NECOCHEA

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

Owner

Operated by PAMPA ENERGIA. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 38.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

15.1°Cannual mean temp
1,455heating degree-days (base 18°C)
376cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
2 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 19 °CMA: 15 °CAM: 11 °CMJ: 8 °CJJ: 8 °CJA: 9 °CAS: 12 °CSO: 15 °CON: 18 °CND: 21 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 41% 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: 33/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #3 largest coal power plant of 9 in Argentina by capacity.

Argentina has 9 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 4,857 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -38.7872, -62.2536 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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