Macaíba (Antiga Termo Toalia) — Brazil

Macaíba (Antiga Termo Toalia) is a 5.7 MW gas power plant in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 6.4k homes (estimated). It ranks #1524 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2008, it is around 18 years old — relatively modern. In context, gas 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 BRA0028324.

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 5.7 MW, Macaíba (Antiga Termo Toalia) is below the median gas plant in Brazil (100.2 MW). 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 Brazil gas capacity

less than 0.1% of 74,861 MW across 195 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

70 of 140 dated gas 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 gas plants in Brazil

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

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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen As) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 5.9°S — 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~8% 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.

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 #130 largest gas power plant of 195 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 195 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 74,861 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Potiguar III · Oil · 66.4 MW · Rio Grande do Norte
• Potiguar · Oil · 53.1 MW · Rio Grande do Norte
• Nordestão Superfacil · Oil · 1.12 MW · Rio Grande do Norte
• Nordestão Nova Parnamirim · Oil · 1.2 MW · Rio Grande do Norte
• Nordestão 03 · Oil · 1.36 MW · Rio Grande do Norte
• Nordestão 07 · Oil · 1.08 MW · Rio Grande do Norte

Location

Coordinates -5.854, -35.3445 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions