McArthur River Mine — Australia

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 80k homes. It ranks #218 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Its modelled annual emissions are 106,619 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 25k 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).

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

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 78 MW, McArthur River Mine is below the median gas plant in Australia (106 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.

~106,619 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Key facts

Load factor

41%, from 280 GWh of reported generation; the median for 84 gas plants in Australia that report generation is 24%

Generation trend

160 GWh in 2013 and 280 GWh in 2018 (+75%)

Highest and lowest year

2015: 286 GWh; 2013: 160 GWh

Share of Australia gas capacity

0.3% of 29,942 MW across 163 plants in this dataset

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

Reported generation trend

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.

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 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 #94 largest gas power plant of 163 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 163 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 29,942 MW of capacity.

Location

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

Frequently asked questions