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Mpila

Oil power plant in Brazzaville, Congo. Approximate location -4.2496, 15.3025.

OilBrazzavilleCongo

Mpila is a 26 MW oil power plant in Brazzaville, Congo. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 19k homes (estimated). It ranks #6 of 8 Congo power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 5.3% of Congo's electricity; the national grid averages 716 gCO₂/kWh (20.9% low-carbon) (2024).

26Legacy source-record capacity
19,221homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023152.

Data status

Known data

FacilityMpila WRI
CountryCongo · Brazzaville WRI
Coordinates-4.2496, 15.3025 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity26 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions50,458 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#6 of 8 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#2 of 2 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent19,221 calculated
Climate25.2°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 35/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

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.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Congo

Loango: 45 MW45LoangoMpila: 26 MW26Mpila

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

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) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 4.2°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.2°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,643cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
269 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 26 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 27 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 22 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 26 °CON: 26 °CND: 26 °CD27 °C

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

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
35/100environmental-severity index
4.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
356 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

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 #2 largest oil power plant of 2 in Congo by capacity.

Congo has 2 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 71 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -4.2496, 15.3025 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Mpila?

Mpila is a 26 MW source-record oil power plant in Brazzaville, Congo.

How many homes can Mpila power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 19,221 homes (estimated).

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