Las Palmas — Guatemala

Las Palmas is a 89 MW oil power plant in Escuintla, Guatemala. It is operated by Nautilus Inkia Holdings LLC [100%]. Based on reported annual generation of 100 GWh, it can supply roughly 28k homes. It ranks #11 of 77 Guatemala power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1998, it is around 28 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 15.8% of Guatemala's electricity; the national grid averages 301 gCO₂/kWh (68.3% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061434.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 67 MW for Las Palmas 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: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 89 MW, Las Palmas is well above the median oil plant in Guatemala (44 MW). Technically it is described as Engine. Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

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

Key facts

Load factor

13%, from 100 GWh of reported generation; the median for 11 oil plants in Guatemala that report generation is 7%

Share of Guatemala oil capacity

9.1% of 983 MW across 19 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

3 of 11 dated oil plants in Guatemala are older

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

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Guatemala

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

Owner

Operated by Nautilus Inkia Holdings LLC [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 14.3°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 a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), 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 #3 largest oil power plant of 19 in Guatemala by capacity.

Guatemala has 19 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 983 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Las Palmas II · Coal · 67 MW · Escuintla
• Stewart & Stevenson · Oil · 51 MW · Escuintla
• Escuintla Gas 5 · Oil · 41.9 MW · Escuintla
• Escuintla Gas 3 · Oil · 35 MW · Escuintla
• Tampa · Oil · 80 MW · Escuintla
• SIDEGUA · Oil · 44 MW · Escuintla

Location

Coordinates 14.27, -90.803 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions