Home / Asia / Cambodia / Phnom Penh Diesel

Phnom Penh Diesel

Oil power plant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Approximate location 11.5904, 104.9153.

OilPhnom PenhCambodia

Phnom Penh Diesel is a 19 MW oil power plant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is operated by Electricité du Cambodge. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 14k homes (estimated). It ranks #20 of 27 Cambodia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1996, it is around 30 years old — long-established. In context, oil supplies about 2.5% of Cambodia's electricity; the national grid averages 499 gCO₂/kWh (40.9% low-carbon) (2025).

19Legacy source-record capacity
13,965homes powered (est.)
1996commissioned (~30 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1026845.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPhnom Penh Diesel WRI
CountryCambodia · Phnom Penh WRI
Coordinates11.5904, 104.9153 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity19 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerElectricité du Cambodge WRI
Commissioned1996 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions36,661 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#20 of 27 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#2 of 3 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent13,965 calculated
Climate28.0°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 35/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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 fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

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 Cambodia

Khmer Electric Power Diesel Power Plant: 30 MW30Khmer Elec…Phnom Penh Diesel: 19 MW19Phnom Penh…Sihanoukville Diesel: 5 MW5Sihanoukvi…

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

Owner

Operated by Electricité du Cambodge.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 11.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

28.0°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,664cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
11 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 26 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 29 °CMA: 30 °CAM: 30 °CMJ: 29 °CJJ: 28 °CJA: 28 °CAS: 28 °CSO: 28 °CON: 27 °CND: 26 °CD30 °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 a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
35/100environmental-severity index
3.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
157 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 #2 largest oil power plant of 3 in Cambodia by capacity.

Cambodia has 3 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 54 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 11.5904, 104.9153 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Phnom Penh Diesel?

Phnom Penh Diesel is a 19 MW source-record oil power plant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, commissioned in 1996.

How many homes can Phnom Penh Diesel power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 13,965 homes (estimated).

Who operates Phnom Penh Diesel?

Phnom Penh Diesel is operated by Electricité du Cambodge.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.