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Dry Creek

Gas power plant in South Australia, Australia. Approximate location -34.8475, 138.5818.

GasSouth AustraliaAustraliaOCGTCO₂ modelled

Dry Creek is a 156 MW gas power station in South Australia, Australia. It is operated by Synergen Power. Based on reported annual generation of 11 GWh, it can supply roughly 3.1k homes. It ranks #124 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its modelled annual emissions are 14,494 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 3.4k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 16.4% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

156Source-backed capacity
11GWh reported / yr
3,057homes powered
14,494t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000233.

Data status

Known data

FacilityDry Creek WRI
CountryAustralia · South Australia WRI
Coordinates-34.8475, 138.5818 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity156 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerSynergen Power WRI
Commissioned1973 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr11 GWh/yr WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions14,494 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#124 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#65 of 163 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.47× · 106 MW median · 163 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent3,057 calculated from reported generation
Climate16.5°C · HDD 947 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 32/100 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 (location L100000405112); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 156 MW, Dry Creek is well above the median gas plant in Australia (106 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.

~14,494 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

3.4kpassenger cars driven for a year
1.9khomes' yearly energy use
242ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 7 GWh20132014: 3 GWh20142015: 5 GWh20152016: 6 GWh20162017: 10 GWh20172018: 11 GWh201811 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Synergen Power.

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 34.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.5°Cannual mean temp
947heating degree-days (base 18°C)
374cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
52 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 20 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 12 °CJJ: 11 °CJA: 12 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 16 °CON: 18 °CND: 20 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 61% 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: 26/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~1% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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)
32/100environmental-severity index
11.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
90 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 #65 largest gas power plant of 163 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 163 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 29,942 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -34.8475, 138.5818 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Dry Creek?

Dry Creek is a 156 MW source-record gas power plant in South Australia, Australia, commissioned in 1973.

How much electricity does Dry Creek generate?

Dry Creek generates about 11 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Dry Creek power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 3,057 homes.

Who operates Dry Creek?

Dry Creek is operated by Synergen Power.

How much CO₂ does Dry Creek emit?

Dry Creek has modelled emissions of about 14,494 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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