Home / Europe / Portugal / Cogeração Caima

Cogeração Caima

Biomass power plant in Santarem, Portugal. Approximate location 39.4723, -8.3327.

BiomassSantaremPortugalCO₂ measured

Cogeração Caima is a 9 MW biomass power plant in Santarem, Portugal. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 12k homes (estimated). It ranks #213 of 480 Portugal power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. Its annual emissions of 2,959 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 690 cars driven for a year. In context, biomass supplies about 6.8% of Portugal's electricity; the national grid averages 128 gCO₂/kWh (81.0% low-carbon) (2025).

9Legacy source-record capacity
12,389homes powered (est.)
2,959t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
2001commissioned (~25 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1022499.

Data status

Known data

FacilityCogeração Caima WRI
CountryPortugal · Santarem WRI
Coordinates39.4723, -8.3327 WRI
FuelBiomass WRI
MW installed capacity9 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned2001 WRI
CO₂ emissions2,959 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#213 of 480 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#13 of 19 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.72× · 12 MW median · 19 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent12,389 calculated
Climate16.3°C · HDD 1,107 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 33/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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 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: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 9 MW, Cogeração Caima is below the median biomass plant in Portugal (12 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.

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

2,959 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

690passenger cars driven for a year
386homes' yearly energy use
49ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023) (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in Portugal

Cogeração da Figueira da Foz (Lavos): 95 MW95Cogeração …Cogeração Celbi: 70 MW70Cogeração …Cogeração de Setúbal: 54 MW54Cogeração …Cogeração EUROPA&C Energia Viana: 39 MW39Cogeração …Cogeração de Cacia: 35 MW35Cogeração …Termoeléctrica da Figueira da Foz: 34 MW34Termoeléct…Cogeração Celtejo: 30 MW30Cogeração …Termoeléctrica de Constância: 14 MW14Termoeléct…

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

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.3°Cannual mean temp
1,107heating degree-days (base 18°C)
485cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
121 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 10 °CJF: 11 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 23 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 18 °CON: 13 °CND: 11 °CD23 °C

Heating degree-days here run 55% 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: 27/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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)
33/100environmental-severity index
13.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
60 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 #13 largest biomass power plant of 19 in Portugal by capacity.

Portugal has 19 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 453 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 39.4723, -8.3327 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Cogeração Caima?

Cogeração Caima is a 9 MW source-record biomass power plant in Santarem, Portugal, commissioned in 2001.

How many homes can Cogeração Caima power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 12,389 homes (estimated).

How much CO₂ does Cogeração Caima emit?

Cogeração Caima has measured emissions of about 2,959 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.