Laguna Verde — Mexico

Laguna Verde is a 1,608 MW nuclear power station in Veracruz, Mexico. It is operated by CFE. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 3.6 million homes (estimated). It ranks #7 of 366 Mexico power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1990, it is around 36 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 2.8% of Mexico's electricity; the national grid averages 474 gCO₂/kWh (25.9% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id MEX0001769.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000500160; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as boiling water reactor. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.

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

Owner

Operated by CFE. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 19.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

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

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

Mexico has 1 nuclear power plant in this dataset, together about 1,608 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Ingenio La Gloria · Biomass · 21.5 MW · Veracruz
• Ingenio El Modelo · Biomass · 9 MW · Veracruz
• Azucarera La Concepción · Biomass · 4.2 MW · Veracruz
• Ingenio Mahuixtlan · Biomass · 3.3 MW · Veracruz
• Texolo · Hydro · 1.6 MW · Veracruz
• Dos Bocas · Gas · 452 MW · Veracruz

Location

Coordinates 19.7208, -96.4064 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions