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Karratha

Gas power plant in Western Australia, Australia. Approximate location -20.7626, 116.8375.

GasWestern AustraliaAustraliaCO₂ reported

Karratha is a 86 MW gas power plant in Western Australia, Australia. It is operated by ATCO Power. Based on reported annual generation of 79 GWh, it can supply roughly 22,542 homes. It ranks #172 of 512 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Its measured emissions of 88,624 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 20,658 cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 16.4% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

86MW installed capacity
79GWh reported / yr
22,542homes powered
88,624t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000189.

88,624 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

20,658passenger cars driven for a year
11,558homes' yearly energy use
1,477,067tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 494 GWh20132014: 446 GWh20142015: 474 GWh20152016: 452 GWh20162017: 346 GWh20172018: 79 GWh2018494 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by ATCO Power. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 20.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

27.3°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,374cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
61 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 33 °CJF: 32 °CFM: 32 °CMA: 29 °CAM: 24 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 24 °CSO: 28 °CON: 30 °CND: 32 °CD33 °C

Heating degree-days here run 100% 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: 13/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

A gas turbine here also runs ~9% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #68 largest gas power plant of 142 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 142 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 21,303 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -20.7626, 116.8375 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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