Hainan Southwest power station — China

Hainan Southwest power station is a 700 MW coal power station in Hainan, China. It is operated by China Guodian Corporation. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 876k homes (estimated). It ranks #1180 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 2,051,000 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 478k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 54.3% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1070304.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000100529; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 700 MW, Hainan Southwest power station is around the median coal plant in China (700 MW). Technically it is described as supercritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

~2,051,000 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

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

Key facts

Share of China coal capacity

less than 0.1% of 1,882,493 MW across 1,907 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1,021 of 1,446 dated coal plants in China are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest coal plants in China

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

Owner

Operated by China Guodian Corporation. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 18.5°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 #815 largest coal power plant of 1907 in China by capacity.

China has 1907 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 1,882,493 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Xiangshui HI · Solar · 20 MW · Hainan
• Ledong · Solar · 20 MW · Hainan
• Hainan Dongfang Gaopai Phase 1 Wind · Wind · 48 MW · Hainan
• Nanshan Gas · Gas · 132 MW · Hainan
• Huaneng Hainan East power station · Coal · 1,400 MW · Hainan
• Daguangba · Hydro · 242 MW · Hainan

Location

Coordinates 18.5383, 108.6824 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions