Olmeca III — Guatemala
Waste power plant in San Marcos, Guatemala. Approximate location 14.64, -92.149.
WasteSan MarcosGuatemala
Olmeca III is a 2.1 MW waste power plant in San Marcos, Guatemala. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 2.9k homes (estimated). It ranks #75 of 77 Guatemala power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. In context, the national grid averages 301 gCO₂/kWh (68.3% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029269.
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
Waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste to generate electricity and heat, cutting landfill volume while recovering energy from residual waste.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Key facts
- Share of Guatemala waste capacity
- 35.6% of 6 MW across 2 plants in this dataset
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest waste plants in Guatemala
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Local climate & thermal context
This waste plant recovers energy by combusting municipal or industrial waste. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 14.6°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 #2 largest waste power plant of 2 in Guatemala by capacity.
Guatemala has 2 waste power plants in this dataset, together about 6 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- José Cecilio del Valle · Hydro · 21 MW · Chiapas
- El Porvenir · Hydro · 2.3 MW · San Marcos
- El Manantial · Hydro · 3.8 MW · Quetzaltenango
- El Pilar · Biomass · 33.4 MW · Suchitepeque
- El Recreo · Hydro · 26 MW · Quetzaltenango
- Tulula · Biomass · 50 MW · Suchitepeque
Location
Coordinates 14.64, -92.149 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Olmeca III?
Olmeca III is a 2.1 MW waste power plant in San Marcos, Guatemala, commissioned in 2015.