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Portoscuso

Oil power plant in Sardinia, Italy. Approximate location 39.2047, 8.3789.

OilSardiniaItaly

Portoscuso is a 320 MW oil power station in Sardinia, Italy. It is operated by ENEL. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 240k homes (estimated). It ranks #89 of 489 Italy power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, oil supplies about 2.6% of Italy's electricity; the national grid averages 285 gCO₂/kWh (48.8% low-carbon) (2025).

320Legacy source-record capacity
240,274homes powered (est.)
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1002926.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPortoscuso WRI
CountryItaly · Sardinia WRI
Coordinates39.2047, 8.3789 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity320 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerENEL WRI
Commissioned1973 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions630,720 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#89 of 489 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#6 of 15 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.52× · 210 MW median · 15 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent240,274 calculated
Climate17.4°C · HDD 960 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 47/100 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

At 320 MW, Portoscuso is well above the median oil plant in Italy (210 MW). 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 Italy

PORTO TOLLE: 2,640 MW3kPORTO TOLLETURBIGO: 1,285 MW1kTURBIGOPIOMBINO TERMICA: 1,280 MW1kPIOMBINO T…ROSSANO TE: 1,200 MW1kROSSANO TESAN FILIPPO DEL MELA: 960 MW960SAN FILIPP…Portoscuso: 320 MW320PortoscusoLIVORNO MARZOCCO: 310 MW310LIVORNO MA…AUGUSTA C.LE: 210 MW210AUGUSTA C.…

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

Owner

Operated by ENEL. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

17.4°Cannual mean temp
960heating degree-days (base 18°C)
740cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
50 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 11 °CJF: 11 °CFM: 12 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 22 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 19 °CON: 15 °CND: 12 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 61% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 26/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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)
47/100environmental-severity index
14.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
12 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 #6 largest oil power plant of 15 in Italy by capacity.

Italy has 15 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 9,157 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 39.2047, 8.3789 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Portoscuso?

Portoscuso is a 320 MW source-record oil power plant in Sardinia, Italy, commissioned in 1973.

How many homes can Portoscuso power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 240,274 homes (estimated).

Who operates Portoscuso?

Portoscuso is operated by ENEL.

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