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Esmeraldas II

Oil power plant in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Approximate location 0.9349, -79.6914.

OilEsmeraldasEcuador

Esmeraldas II is a 96 MW oil power plant in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. It is operated by CELEC EP. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 72k homes (estimated). It ranks #16 of 34 Ecuador power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2014, it is around 12 years old — relatively modern. In context, oil supplies about 17.9% of Ecuador's electricity; the national grid averages 159 gCO₂/kWh (79.4% low-carbon) (2025).

96Legacy source-record capacity
72,082homes powered (est.)
2014commissioned (~12 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1022989.

Data status

Known data

FacilityEsmeraldas II WRI
CountryEcuador · Esmeraldas WRI
Coordinates0.9349, -79.6914 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity96 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerCELEC EP WRI
Commissioned2014 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions189,216 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#16 of 34 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#7 of 14 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.00× · 96 MW median · 14 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent72,082 calculated
Climate25.0°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 48/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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 96 MW, Esmeraldas II is around the median oil plant in Ecuador (96 MW). 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 Ecuador

Central Jaramijó power station: 149 MW149Central Ja…Central Termica Trinitaria: 133 MW133Central Te…Esmeraldas: 132 MW132EsmeraldasDurán power station: 120 MW120Durán powe…Enrique Garcia thermal power station: 102 MW102Enrique Ga…San Juan de Manta power station: 100 MW100San Juan d…Esmeraldas II: 96 MW96Esmeraldas…Santa Elena II power station: 90 MW90Santa Elen…

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

Owner

Operated by CELEC EP.

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 0.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.0°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,572cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
162 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 25 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 25 °CON: 25 °CND: 25 °CD26 °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)
48/100environmental-severity index
1.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
20 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 #7 largest oil power plant of 14 in Ecuador by capacity.

Ecuador has 14 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 1,207 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 0.9349, -79.6914 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Esmeraldas II?

Esmeraldas II is a 96 MW source-record oil power plant in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, commissioned in 2014.

How many homes can Esmeraldas II power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 72,082 homes (estimated).

Who operates Esmeraldas II?

Esmeraldas II is operated by CELEC EP.

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