Phinda power plant — South Africa

Phinda power plant is a 450 MW gas power station in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It ranks #46 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 0.0% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).

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

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 450 MW, Phinda power plant is below the median gas plant in South Africa (670 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. Its current lifecycle status is “Pre Construction” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #11 largest gas power plant of 15 in South Africa by capacity.

South Africa has 15 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 19,062 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Richards Bay Gas to Power Plant 2 · Gas · 400 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
• Richards Bay Mill power station · Other · 149.7 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
• Phakwe Richards Bay Power Plant · Gas · 2,000 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
• Richards Bay (Eskom) power station · Gas · 3,000 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
• Karpowership Richards Bay power station · Gas · 450 MW · KwaZulu-Natal
• Nseleni Independent Floating power station · Gas · 2,800 MW · KwaZulu-Natal

Location

Coordinates -28.765199, 32.011978 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions