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Pau Ferro I

Oil power plant in Pernambuco, Brazil. Approximate location -7.8568, -35.0094.

OilPernambucoBrazilEngine

Pau Ferro I is a 94 MW oil power plant in Pernambuco, Brazil. It is operated by Centrais Elétricas de Pernambuco SA [5%]; Eletricidade do Brasil SA [95%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 71k homes (estimated). It ranks #322 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2009, it is around 17 years old — relatively modern. In context, oil supplies about 1.7% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

94Source-backed capacity
70,655homes powered (est.)
2009commissioned (~17 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0029561.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPau Ferro I WRI
CountryBrazil · Pernambuco WRI
Coordinates-7.8568, -35.0094 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity94 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerCentrais Elétricas de Pernambuco SA [5%]; Eletricidade do Brasil SA [95%] WRI
Commissioned2009 WRI
TechnologyEngine WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions185,471 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#322 of 2572 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#43 of 645 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers39.21× · 2 MW median · 645 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent70,655 calculated
Climate24.8°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 48/100 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.

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 L100000408539); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 94 MW, Pau Ferro I is well above the median oil plant in Brazil (2 MW). Technically it is described as Engine. 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 Brazil

Mauá: 553 MW553MauáDo Atlântico: 490 MW490Do Atlânti…Suape II: 381 MW381Suape IIEnergética Suape II SA power station: 381 MW381Energética…Termoparaiba and Termonordeste: 342 MW342Termoparai…Global II power station: 335 MW335Global II …Aparecida Parte I: 241 MW241Aparecida …CST: 225 MW225CST

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

Owner

Operated by Centrais Elétricas de Pernambuco SA [5%]; Eletricidade do Brasil SA [95%].

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 As) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 7.9°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

24.8°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,495cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
54 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 26 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 25 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 23 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 24 °CSO: 25 °CON: 25 °CND: 26 °CD26 °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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
48/100environmental-severity index
2.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
22 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 #43 largest oil power plant of 645 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 645 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 11,544 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -7.8568, -35.0094 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Pau Ferro I?

Pau Ferro I is a 94 MW source-record oil power plant in Pernambuco, Brazil, commissioned in 2009.

How many homes can Pau Ferro I power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 70,655 homes (estimated).

Who operates Pau Ferro I?

Pau Ferro I is operated by Centrais Elétricas de Pernambuco SA [5%]; Eletricidade do Brasil SA [95%].

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