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Hainan Southwest power station

Coal power plant in Hainan, China. Approximate location 18.5383, 108.6824.

CoalHainanChinasupercriticalCO₂ modelled

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).

700Source-backed capacity
876,000homes powered (est.)
2,051,000t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2015commissioned (~11 yrs)

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

Data status

Known data

FacilityHainan Southwest power station WRI
CountryChina · Hainan WRI
Coordinates18.5383, 108.6824 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity700 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerChina Guodian Corporation WRI
Commissioned2015 WRI
Technologysupercritical WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions2,051,000 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1180 of 6685 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#815 of 1907 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.00× · 700 MW median · 1907 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent876,000 calculated
Climate25.5°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 50/100 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 L100000100529); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

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:

478kpassenger cars driven for a year
267khomes' yearly energy use
34 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Capacity vs largest coal plants in China

East Hope Metals Wucaiwan power station: 7,000 MW7kEast Hope …Datang Tuoketuo power station: 6,720 MW7kDatang Tuo…Togtoh power station: 6,720 MW7kTogtoh pow…Ying Long Shan power station: 6,300 MW6kYing Long …Jiaxing power station: 6,030 MW6kJiaxing po…Guazhou Changle power station: 6,000 MW6kGuazhou Ch…Guodian Yulin Jingbian power station: 6,000 MW6kGuodian Yu…Guoxin Dafeng power station: 6,000 MW6kGuoxin Daf…

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.

25.5°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,761cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
7 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 20 °CJF: 21 °CFM: 24 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 28 °CMJ: 29 °CJJ: 29 °CJA: 29 °CAS: 28 °CSO: 26 °CON: 24 °CND: 21 °CD29 °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)
50/100environmental-severity index
8.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
24 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 #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

Location

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

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Hainan Southwest power station?

Hainan Southwest power station is a 700 MW source-record coal power plant in Hainan, China, commissioned in 2015.

How many homes can Hainan Southwest power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 876,000 homes (estimated).

Who operates Hainan Southwest power station?

Hainan Southwest power station is operated by China Guodian Corporation.

How much CO₂ does Hainan Southwest power station emit?

Hainan Southwest power station has modelled emissions of about 2,051,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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