Iracema — Brazil
Biomass power plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Approximate location -22.5824, -47.5216.
BiomassSao PauloBrazil
Iracema is a 14 MW biomass power plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is operated by São Martinho SA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 19k homes (estimated). It ranks #1227 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1905, it is around 121 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, biomass supplies about 7.3% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0001142.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 14 MW, Iracema is around the median biomass plant in Brazil (15 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.
Key facts
- Share of Brazil biomass capacity
- less than 0.1% of 17,205 MW across 547 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 5 of 394 dated biomass plants in Brazil are older
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest biomass plants in Brazil
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by São Martinho SA.
Local climate & thermal context
This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 22.6°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 97% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 15/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
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
This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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 #283 largest biomass power plant of 547 in Brazil by capacity.
Brazil has 547 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 17,205 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Corumbataí · Hydro · 1.7 MW · Sao Paulo
- CECOL · Oil · 1.1 MW · Sao Paulo
- Nestlé · Oil · 1.44 MW · Sao Paulo
- Cedasa · Oil · 3.57 MW · Sao Paulo
- Costa Pinto · Biomass · 75 MW · Sao Paulo
- LOOP · Oil · 1.09 MW · Sao Paulo
Location
Coordinates -22.5824, -47.5216 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Iracema?
Iracema is a 14 MW biomass power plant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, commissioned in 1905.
Who operates Iracema?
Iracema is operated by São Martinho SA.