Juan Manuel Valdez power station — Venezuela

Juan Manuel Valdez power station is a 700 MW gas power station in Sucre, Venezuela. It is operated by Corporación Eléctrica Nacional (Venezuela) SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 788k homes (estimated). It ranks #11 of 59 Venezuela power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2018, it is around 8 years old — recently built. In context, gas supplies about 4.5% of Venezuela's electricity; the national grid averages 86 gCO₂/kWh (91.1% low-carbon) (2024).

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

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 350 MW for Juan Manuel Valdez power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 700 MW, Juan Manuel Valdez power station is well above the median gas plant in Venezuela (300 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.

Key facts

Share of Venezuela gas capacity

4.2% of 16,840 MW across 44 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

29 of 30 dated gas plants in Venezuela are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Venezuela

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

Owner

Operated by Corporación Eléctrica Nacional (Venezuela) SA [100%].

Climate zone & how it works

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 10.6°N — 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).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion 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 #5 largest gas power plant of 44 in Venezuela by capacity.

Venezuela has 44 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 16,840 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Union Estate Power Station · Gas · 720 MW · Point Fortin
• Port of Spain · Oil · 260 MW · City of Port of Spain
• Point Lisas · Gas · 812 MW · Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo
• Penal · Gas · 234 MW · Penal/Debe
• Cove Power Station · Gas · 65.6 MW · Tobago
• Scarborough · Oil · 11 MW · Tobago

Location

Coordinates 10.562024, -62.310042 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions