Gas power plant in Eastern Cape, South Africa. Approximate location -33.78342, 25.707426.
GasEastern CapeSouth AfricaCCGT · HRSGPre Construction
Coega power station is a 3,000 MW gas power station in Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is operated by Coega Development Corporation Pty Ltd [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 3.4 million homes (estimated). It ranks #14 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 0.0% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_coega_southa.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.
capacity: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
At 3,000 MW, Coega power station is well above the median gas plant in South Africa (670 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). Its current lifecycle status is “Pre Construction” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Coega Development Corporation Pty Ltd [100%].
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 33.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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 humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
The #2 largest gas power plant of 15 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 15 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 19,062 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -33.78342, 25.707426 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Coega power station is a 3,000 MW gas power plant in Eastern Cape, South Africa, Pre Construction 2026.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 3,378,857 homes (estimated).
Coega power station is operated by Coega Development Corporation Pty Ltd [100%].
