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Ingenio El Modelo

Biomass power plant in Veracruz, Mexico. Approximate location 19.3772, -96.3704.

BiomassVeracruzMexicoCO₂ modelled

Ingenio El Modelo is a 9 MW biomass power plant in Veracruz, Mexico. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 12k homes (estimated). It ranks #304 of 366 Mexico power plants by installed capacity. Its modelled annual emissions are 583 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 136 cars driven for a year. In context, biomass supplies about 1.7% of Mexico's electricity; the national grid averages 474 gCO₂/kWh (25.9% low-carbon) (2025).

9Legacy source-record capacity
12,389homes powered (est.)
583t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id MEX0006668.

Data status

Known data

FacilityIngenio El Modelo WRI
CountryMexico · Veracruz WRI
Coordinates19.3772, -96.3704 WRI
FuelBiomass WRI
MW installed capacity9 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions583 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#304 of 366 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#41 of 72 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.90× · 10 MW median · 72 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent12,389 calculated
Climate25.2°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 48/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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

At 9 MW, Ingenio El Modelo is below the median biomass plant in Mexico (10 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.

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

~583 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

136passenger cars driven for a year
76homes' yearly energy use
9.7ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in Mexico

Ingenio Pánuco power station: 69 MW69Ingenio Pá…Ingenio San Miguel del Naranjo: 49 MW49Ingenio Sa…Piasa Coogeneracion: 40 MW40Piasa Coog…Bioeléctrica de Occidente power station: 35 MW35Bioeléctri…PTAR Atotonilco power station: 33 MW33PTAR Atoto…San Nicolás Sugar power station: 32 MW32San Nicolá…Santa Rosalía: 25 MW25Santa Rosa…Tala Electric: 25 MW25Tala Elect…

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

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 19.4°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)
2,631cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
30 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 24 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 28 °CMJ: 28 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 26 °CON: 24 °CND: 22 °CD28 °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)
48/100environmental-severity index
6.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
19 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 #41 largest biomass power plant of 72 in Mexico by capacity.

Mexico has 72 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 924 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 19.3772, -96.3704 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Ingenio El Modelo?

Ingenio El Modelo is a 9 MW source-record biomass power plant in Veracruz, Mexico.

How many homes can Ingenio El Modelo power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 12,389 homes (estimated).

How much CO₂ does Ingenio El Modelo emit?

Ingenio El Modelo has modelled emissions of about 583 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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