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Oakey

Gas power plant in Queensland, Australia. Approximate location -27.4183, 151.6797.

GasQueenslandAustraliaOCGT

Oakey is a 346 MW gas power station in Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Oakey Power Pty Ltd. Based on reported annual generation of 75 GWh, it can supply roughly 21k homes. It ranks #69 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2000, it is around 26 years old — long-established. In context, gas supplies about 16.4% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

346Source-backed capacity
75GWh reported / yr
21,314homes powered
2000commissioned (~26 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000166.

Data status

Known data

FacilityOakey WRI
CountryAustralia · Queensland WRI
Coordinates-27.4183, 151.6797 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity346 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerOakey Power Pty Ltd WRI
Commissioned2000 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI
GWh reported / yr75 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions29,840 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#69 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#29 of 163 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers3.26× · 106 MW median · 163 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent21,314 calculated from reported generation
Climate18.0°C · HDD 740 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 33/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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 346 MW for Oakey power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: A2_MEDIUM_REVIEW - recommended action: manual_source_check - confidence: medium. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000405126); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 346 MW, Oakey is well above the median gas plant in Australia (106 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.

Reported generation trend

2013: 27 GWh20132014: 58 GWh20142015: 499 GWh20152016: 520 GWh20162017: 133 GWh20172018: 75 GWh2018520 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Oakey Power Pty Ltd.

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 humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 27.4°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.0°Cannual mean temp
740heating degree-days (base 18°C)
743cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
495 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 24 °CJF: 23 °CFM: 22 °CMA: 19 °CAM: 16 °CMJ: 12 °CJJ: 11 °CJA: 12 °CAS: 15 °CSO: 18 °CON: 21 °CND: 23 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 70% 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: 24/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~2% 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

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)
33/100environmental-severity index
12.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
159 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 #29 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.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -27.4183, 151.6797 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Oakey?

Oakey is a 346 MW source-record gas power plant in Queensland, Australia, commissioned in 2000.

How much electricity does Oakey generate?

Oakey generates about 75 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Oakey power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 21,314 homes.

Who operates Oakey?

Oakey is operated by Oakey Power Pty Ltd.

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