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McArthur River Mine

Gas power plant in Northern Territory, Australia. Approximate location -16.4335, 136.0935.

GasNorthern TerritoryAustraliaCO₂ reported

McArthur River Mine is a 78 MW gas power plant in Northern Territory, Australia. It is operated by Energy Developments Ltd. Based on reported annual generation of 280 GWh, it can supply roughly 79,942 homes. It ranks #191 of 512 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Its measured emissions of 106,619 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 24,853 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).

78MW installed capacity
280GWh reported / yr
79,942homes powered
106,619t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000424.

106,619 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

24,853passenger cars driven for a year
13,904homes' yearly energy use
1,776,983tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2013: 160 GWh20132014: 180 GWh20142015: 286 GWh20152016: 261 GWh20162017: 248 GWh20172018: 280 GWh2018286 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Energy Developments Ltd. 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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 16.4°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

27.0°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,295cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
112 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 30 °CJF: 30 °CFM: 29 °CMA: 28 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 22 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 29 °CON: 31 °CND: 31 °CD31 °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 #75 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.

Location

Coordinates -16.4335, 136.0935 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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