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Colombo Port

Oil power plant in Western, Sri Lanka. Approximate location 6.9533, 79.8558.

OilWesternSri LankaEngine

Colombo Port is a 62 MW oil power plant in Western, Sri Lanka. It is operated by Ceylon Electricity Board. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 47k homes (estimated). It ranks #21 of 55 Sri Lanka power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. In context, oil supplies about 10.8% of Sri Lanka's electricity; the national grid averages 329 gCO₂/kWh (61.6% low-carbon) (2025).

62Source-backed capacity
46,853homes powered (est.)
2015commissioned (~11 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1030442.

Data status

Known data

FacilityColombo Port WRI
CountrySri Lanka · Western WRI
Coordinates6.9533, 79.8558 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity62 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerCeylon Electricity Board WRI
Commissioned2015 WRI
TechnologyEngine WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions122,990 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#21 of 55 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#6 of 10 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.59× · 105 MW median · 10 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent46,853 calculated
Climate27.1°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 49/100 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 L100000408418); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 62 MW, Colombo Port is below the median oil plant in Sri Lanka (105 MW). Technically it is described as Engine. Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

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

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Sri Lanka

CEB Kelantitissa: 382 MW382CEB Kelant…Yugadanavi: 300 MW300YugadanaviSojitz Kelanitissa: 163 MW163Sojitz Kel…Sapugaskanda: 160 MW160Sapugaskan…Ace Embilipitiya power station: 105 MW105Ace Embili…Colombo Port: 62 MW62Colombo Po…Asia Power Sapugaskanda: 51 MW51Asia Power…Northern Power: 36 MW36Northern P…

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

Owner

Operated by Ceylon Electricity Board. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 7.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

27.1°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,321cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
37 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 26 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 28 °CMA: 28 °CAM: 28 °CMJ: 27 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 27 °CON: 26 °CND: 26 °CD28 °C

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

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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
49/100environmental-severity index
1.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
31 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 #6 largest oil power plant of 10 in Sri Lanka by capacity.

Sri Lanka has 10 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 1,307 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 6.9533, 79.8558 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Colombo Port?

Colombo Port is a 62 MW source-record oil power plant in Western, Sri Lanka, commissioned in 2015.

How many homes can Colombo Port power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 46,853 homes (estimated).

Who operates Colombo Port?

Colombo Port is operated by Ceylon Electricity Board.

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