Gas power plant in Antofagasta, Chile. Approximate location -23.102884, -70.45611.
GasAntofagastaChileOCGT
Illapa power station is a 255 MW gas power station in Antofagasta, Chile. It is operated by Central Illapa SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 287k homes (estimated). It ranks #36 of 336 Chile power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 15.3% of Chile's electricity; the national grid averages 289 gCO₂/kWh (66.4% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_illapa_chile.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
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: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
At 255 MW, Illapa power station is below the median gas plant in Chile (379 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Central Illapa SA [100%].
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 23.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with dust abrasion 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.
The #11 largest gas power plant of 19 in Chile by capacity.
Chile has 19 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 6,512 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -23.102884, -70.45611 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Illapa power station is a 255 MW gas power plant in Antofagasta, Chile.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 287,202 homes (estimated).
Illapa power station is operated by Central Illapa SA [100%].
