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Macaíba (Antiga Termo Toalia)

Gas power plant in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Approximate location -5.854, -35.3445.

GasRio Grande do NorteBrazil

Macaíba (Antiga Termo Toalia) is a 6 MW gas power plant in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 6,419 homes (estimated). It ranks #1493 of 2,549 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).

6MW installed capacity
6,419homes powered (est.)
2008commissioned (~18 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0028324.

~8,988 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

2,095passenger cars driven for a year
1,172homes' yearly energy use
149,796tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from installed capacity at a typical 45% load factor × a typical gas emission factor (~400 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Brazil

Governador Leonel Brizola (Antiga TermoRio): 1,058 MW1kGovernador…MARIO LAGO: 922 MW922MARIO LAGONorte Fluminense: 869 MW869Norte Flum…Uruguaiana: 640 MW640UruguaianaMarlim Azul power station: 565 MW565Marlim Azu…Termopernambuco: 533 MW533Termoperna…Baixada Fluminense: 530 MW530Baixada Fl…Cuiabá (Antga Mário Covas): 529 MW529Cuiabá (An…

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.

25.8°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,837cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
48 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 27 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 27 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 26 °CON: 26 °CND: 27 °CD27 °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 ~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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #68 largest gas power plant of 133 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 133 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 14,755 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

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

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