Cenérgica Power Station — El Salvador
Coal power plant in Sonsonate, El Salvador. Approximate location 13.59, -89.83361.
CoalSonsonateEl Salvador
Cenérgica Power Station is a 150 MW coal power station in Sonsonate, El Salvador. It is operated by Nejapa Power Company LLC [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 188k homes (estimated). It ranks #5 of 19 El Salvador power plants by installed capacity. In context, the national grid averages 139 gCO₂/kWh (86.5% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_cenergica_elsal.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT
In context: how this plant compares
Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Key facts
- Share of El Salvador coal capacity
- 40.5% of 370 MW across 2 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 coal plants in El Salvador
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Nejapa Power Company LLC [100%].
Local climate & thermal context
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 13.6°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.
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 #2 largest coal power plant of 2 in El Salvador by capacity.
El Salvador has 2 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 370 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Acajutla Thermal Power Plant El Salvador · Oil · 324 MW · Sonsonate
- Los Remedios · Solar · 25 MW · Sonsonate
- Trinidad / Marquez · Solar · 18 MW · Sonsonate
- Ahuachapan Geothermal Power Plant El Salvador · Geothermal · 95 MW · Ahuachapan
- Talnique power station · Oil · 102 MW · Chalatenango
- Nejapa IC Power Plant El Salvador · Oil · 143.9 MW · San Salvador
Location
Coordinates 13.59, -89.83361 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Cenérgica Power Station?
Cenérgica Power Station is a 150 MW coal power plant in Sonsonate, El Salvador.
Who operates Cenérgica Power Station?
Cenérgica Power Station is operated by Nejapa Power Company LLC [100%].