Guaracachi CCGT Power Plant Bolivia

Guaracachi CCGT Power Plant Bolivia is a 350 MW gas power station in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It is operated by Empresa Eléctrica ENDE Guaracachi SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 394k homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 30 Bolivia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1999, it is around 27 years old — long-established. In context, gas supplies about 62.4% of Bolivia's electricity; the national grid averages 481 gCO₂/kWh (36.1% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEODB0042663.

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 L100000406476); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 350 MW, Guaracachi CCGT Power Plant Bolivia is well above the median gas plant in Bolivia (120 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG); GE Vernova: 6FA, GE Vernova: 6FA. 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.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Bolivia

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

Owner

Operated by Empresa Eléctrica ENDE Guaracachi SA [100%].

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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 17.8°S — 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~7% 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.

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 #3 largest gas power plant of 13 in Bolivia by capacity.

Bolivia has 13 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 2,339 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Santa Cruz Power Plant Bolivia · Gas · 42 MW · Santa Cruz
• Warnes power station · Gas · 530 MW · Santa Cruz

Location

Coordinates -17.7875, -63.1521 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions