Pointe-Noire — Democratic Republic of the Congo

Pointe-Noire is a 13.2 MW oil power plant in Pointe-Noire, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 9.9k homes (estimated). It ranks #15 of 15 Democratic Republic of the Congo power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 0.0% of Democratic Republic of the Congo's electricity; the national grid averages 28 gCO₂/kWh (100.0% low-carbon) (2024).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023507.

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

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.

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) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 4.8°S — 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

Democratic Republic of the Congo has 1 oil power plant in this dataset, together about 13 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Centrale Électrique du Congo (CEC) power station · Gas · 1,000 MW · Pointe-Noire
• Djeno Eni · Gas · 36 MW · Pointe-Noire
• Pointe-Noire Sne · Gas · 300 MW · Pointe-Noire
• Djeno Total · Gas · 25 MW · Pointe-Noire
• Congo Natural Gas Combined Cycle power plant · Gas · 100 MW · Pointe-Noire
• Fútila power station · Gas · 200 MW · Cabinda

Location

Coordinates -4.7947, 11.8461 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions