Old Harbour — Jamaica
Oil power plant in Saint Catherine, Jamaica. Approximate location 17.9006, -77.1071.
OilSaint CatherineJamaicaCCGT · HRSG
Old Harbour is a 347.5 MW oil power station in Saint Catherine, Jamaica. It is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 261k homes (estimated). It ranks #2 of 13 Jamaica power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1994, it is around 32 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 30.5% of Jamaica's electricity; the national grid averages 563 gCO₂/kWh (12.6% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023917.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
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
Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). 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.
Key facts
- Share of Jamaica oil capacity
- 58.4% of 595 MW across 4 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 1 of 4 dated oil plants in Jamaica is older
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest oil plants in Jamaica
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.
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) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 17.9°N — 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.
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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion 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 #1 largest oil power plant of 4 in Jamaica by capacity.
Jamaica has 4 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 595 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Jamalco power station · Gas · 150 MW · Clarendon
- Content · Solar · 20 MW · Clarendon
- Rusal power station · Coal · 90 MW · Saint Catherine
- Hunts Bay · Oil · 122.5 MW · Kingston
- West Kingston · Oil · 65 MW · Kingston
- Rockfort · Oil · 60 MW · Saint Andrew
Location
Coordinates 17.9006, -77.1071 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Old Harbour?
Old Harbour is a 347.5 MW oil power plant in Saint Catherine, Jamaica, commissioned in 1994.
Who operates Old Harbour?
Old Harbour is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.