ELCOSA — Honduras
Oil power plant in Cortes, Honduras. Approximate location 15.8557, -87.9558.
OilCortesHondurasEngine
ELCOSA is a 80 MW oil power plant in Cortes, Honduras. It is operated by Empresa Nacional De Energia Electrica. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 60k homes (estimated). It ranks #12 of 47 Honduras power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1994, it is around 32 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 44.1% of Honduras's electricity; the national grid averages 322 gCO₂/kWh (55.4% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029350.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Source of the capacity and fuel values:
capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000408652; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 80 MW, ELCOSA is around the median oil plant in Honduras (82.4 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.
Key facts
- Share of Honduras oil capacity
- 8.6% of 928 MW across 7 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 0 of 4 dated oil plants in Honduras are older
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest oil plants in Honduras
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Empresa Nacional De Energia Electrica. 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 15.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
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
This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.
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 #5 largest oil power plant of 7 in Honduras by capacity.
Honduras has 7 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 928 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Puerto Cortés power station · Gas · 350 MW · Cortés
- Puente Alto Energy power station · Coal · 100 MW · Cortés
- Bijao Power Station · Coal · 70 MW · Cortés
- PECSA power station · Gas · 54 MW · Cortés
- EMCE · Oil · 26.6 MW · Cortes
- ENERSA Choloma · Oil · 371 MW · Cortes
Location
Coordinates 15.8557, -87.9558 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is ELCOSA?
ELCOSA is a 80 MW oil power plant in Cortes, Honduras, commissioned in 1994.
Who operates ELCOSA?
ELCOSA is operated by Empresa Nacional De Energia Electrica.