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Hunts Bay

Oil power plant in Kingston, Jamaica. Approximate location 17.975, -76.8176.

OilKingstonJamaicaEngine

Hunts Bay is a 122 MW oil power station in Kingston, Jamaica. It is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 92k homes (estimated). It ranks #4 of 13 Jamaica power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1992, it is around 34 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 30.5% of Jamaica's electricity; the national grid averages 563 gCO₂/kWh (12.6% low-carbon) (2024).

122Legacy source-record capacity
91,980homes powered (est.)
1992commissioned (~34 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023918.

Data status

Known data

FacilityHunts Bay WRI
CountryJamaica · Kingston WRI
Coordinates17.975, -76.8176 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity122 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerJamaica Public Service Company WRI
Commissioned1992 WRI
TechnologyEngine WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions241,448 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#4 of 13 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#2 of 4 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent91,980 calculated
Climate25.2°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 46/100 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 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

Technically it is described as Engine. 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 Jamaica

Old Harbour: 348 MW348Old HarbourHunts Bay: 122 MW122Hunts BayWest Kingston: 65 MW65West Kings…Rockfort: 60 MW60Rockfort

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

Owner

Operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 18.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.2°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,648cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
207 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 24 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 24 °CMA: 25 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 26 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 26 °CON: 25 °CND: 24 °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)
46/100environmental-severity index
2.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
26 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 #2 largest oil power plant of 4 in Jamaica by capacity.

Jamaica has 4 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 595 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 17.975, -76.8176 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Hunts Bay?

Hunts Bay is a 122 MW source-record oil power plant in Kingston, Jamaica, commissioned in 1992.

How many homes can Hunts Bay power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 91,980 homes (estimated).

Who operates Hunts Bay?

Hunts Bay is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.

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