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Hamakua Energy Plant

Oil power plant in Hawaii, United States of America. Approximate location 20.0939, -155.4711.

OilHawaiiUnited States of AmericaCCGT · HRSGCO₂ modelled

Hamakua Energy Plant is a 66 MW oil power plant in Hawaii, United States of America. It is operated by Hamakua Energy LLC. Based on reported annual generation of 402 GWh, it can supply roughly 115k homes. It ranks #3377 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2000, it is around 26 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 36,124 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 8.4k cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

66Source-backed capacity
1HRSG unit(s)
402GWh reported / yr
114,942homes powered
36,124t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2000commissioned (~26 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0055369.

Data status

Known data

FacilityHamakua Energy Plant WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Hawaii WRI
Coordinates20.0939, -155.4711 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity66 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerHamakua Energy LLC WRI
Commissioned2000 WRI
TechnologyCCGT · HRSG WRI
GWh reported / yr402 GWh/yr WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions36,124 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#3377 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#91 of 902 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers9.17× · 7 MW median · 902 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent114,942 calculated from reported generation
Climate20.3°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 43/100 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 L100000409220); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 66 MW, Hamakua Energy Plant is well above the median oil plant in United States of America (7 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). 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.

~36,124 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

8.4kpassenger cars driven for a year
4.7khomes' yearly energy use
602ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 170 GWh20132014: 182 GWh20142015: 224 GWh20152016: 131 GWh20162017: 145 GWh20172018: 264 GWh20182019: 402 GWh2019402 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Hamakua Energy LLC.

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 20.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

20.3°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
847cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
512 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 19 °CJF: 19 °CFM: 19 °CMA: 20 °CAM: 20 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 22 °CON: 20 °CND: 19 °CD22 °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)
43/100environmental-severity index
3.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
28 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 #91 largest oil power plant of 902 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 902 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 40,022 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 20.0939, -155.4711 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Hamakua Energy Plant?

Hamakua Energy Plant is a 66 MW source-record oil power plant in Hawaii, United States of America, commissioned in 2000.

How much electricity does Hamakua Energy Plant generate?

Hamakua Energy Plant generates about 402 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Hamakua Energy Plant power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 114,942 homes.

Who operates Hamakua Energy Plant?

Hamakua Energy Plant is operated by Hamakua Energy LLC.

How much CO₂ does Hamakua Energy Plant emit?

Hamakua Energy Plant has modelled emissions of about 36,124 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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