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Colorado

Biomass power plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Approximate location -20.2792, -48.1755.

BiomassSao PauloBrazil

Colorado is a 53 MW biomass power plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is operated by Acucar e Etanol Oswaldo Ribeiro de Mendonca SA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 73k homes (estimated). It ranks #457 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1981, it is around 45 years old — long-established. In context, biomass supplies about 7.3% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

53Legacy source-record capacity
72,682homes powered (est.)
1981commissioned (~45 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0028094.

Data status

Known data

FacilityColorado WRI
CountryBrazil · Sao Paulo WRI
Coordinates-20.2792, -48.1755 WRI
FuelBiomass WRI
MW installed capacity53 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerAcucar e Etanol Oswaldo Ribeiro de Mendonca SA WRI
Commissioned1981 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#457 of 2572 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#114 of 547 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers3.52× · 15 MW median · 547 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent72,682 calculated
Climate22.5°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 31/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsNot 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 53 MW, Colorado is well above the median biomass plant in Brazil (15 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.

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in Brazil

Bracell Star power station: 420 MW420Bracell St…Klabin Celulose: 330 MW330Klabin Cel…Suzano Maranhão: 255 MW255Suzano Mar…CMPC (Antiga Aracruz Unidade Guaíba): 251 MW251CMPC (Anti…Eldorado Brasil: 226 MW226Eldorado B…Suzano Mucuri (Antiga Bahia Sul): 214 MW214Suzano Muc…Aracruz: 210 MW210AracruzFS Primavera power station: 191 MW191FS Primave…

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

Owner

Operated by Acucar e Etanol Oswaldo Ribeiro de Mendonca SA.

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 20.3°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.5°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,628cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
576 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 24 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 24 °CMA: 23 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 19 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 24 °CON: 24 °CND: 24 °CD24 °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 a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
31/100environmental-severity index
4.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
423 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 #114 largest biomass power plant of 547 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 547 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 17,205 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -20.2792, -48.1755 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Colorado?

Colorado is a 53 MW source-record biomass power plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, commissioned in 1981.

How many homes can Colorado power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 72,682 homes (estimated).

Who operates Colorado?

Colorado is operated by Acucar e Etanol Oswaldo Ribeiro de Mendonca SA.

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