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New Morupule power station

Coal power plant in Central, Botswana. Approximate location -22.522588, 27.056204.

CoalCentralBotswanaAnnounced

New Morupule power station is a 615 MW coal power station in Central, Botswana. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 770k homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 12 Botswana power plants by installed capacity. In context, coal supplies about 98.3% of Botswana's electricity; the national grid averages 851 gCO₂/kWh (0.3% low-carbon) (2024).

615MW installed capacity
769,628homes powered (est.)

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

Data status

Known data

FacilityNew Morupule power station GEM-coal
CountryBotswana · Central GEM-coal
Coordinates-22.522588, 27.056204 GEM-coal
FuelCoal GEM-coal
MW installed capacity615 MW GEM GCPT; source record

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions2,693,700 t CO₂·a⁻¹ calculated
Capacity rank in country#3 / 12 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#3 / 11 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.02× · 600 MW · n=11 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent769,628 calculated
Environmental severityC1 · 39/100 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 132 MW for Morupule A Power Station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

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: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 615 MW, New Morupule power station is around the median coal plant in Botswana (600 MW). Its current lifecycle status is “Announced” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Botswana

Mmamabula Energy Project: 3,600 MW4kMmamabula …Morpule: 732 MW732MorpuleNew Morupule power station: 615 MW615New Morupu…Mmamabula West power station: 600 MW600Mmamabula …Mmamantswe power station: 600 MW600Mmamantswe…Morupule IPP: 600 MW600Morupule I…Sese Integrated Power Project: 450 MW450Sese Integ…CIC Domestic power station: 300 MW300CIC Domest…

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

Climate zone & how it works

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 22.5°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~23°Ctypical annual mean
~31°Ctypical warm-season mean
Hot semi-arid steppe: warm all year, with distinct wet and dry seasons

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
39/100environmental-severity index
12.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
680 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 #3 largest coal power plant of 11 in Botswana by capacity.

Botswana has 11 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 8,111 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -22.522588, 27.056204 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is New Morupule power station?

New Morupule power station is a 615 MW coal power plant in Central, Botswana.

How many homes can New Morupule power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 769,628 homes (estimated).

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