PROCESOS ECOLOGICOS VILCHES — Spain

PROCESOS ECOLOGICOS VILCHES is a 15 MW waste power plant in Andalusia, Spain. It is operated by PROCESOS ECOLOGICOS VILCHES S.A.. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 21k homes (estimated). It ranks #660 of 899 Spain power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. Its annual emissions of 2,787 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 650 cars driven for a year. In context, the national grid averages 154 gCO₂/kWh (74.6% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1007810.

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

At 15 MW, PROCESOS ECOLOGICOS VILCHES is around the median waste plant in Spain (16.4 MW). Waste-to-energy plants burn municipal solid waste to generate electricity and heat, cutting landfill volume while recovering energy from residual waste.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

2,787 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023) (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Key facts

Share of Spain waste capacity

2.4% of 628 MW across 18 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 6 dated waste plants in Spain is older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest waste plants in Spain

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

Owner

Operated by PROCESOS ECOLOGICOS VILCHES S.A..

Local climate & thermal context

This waste plant recovers energy by combusting municipal or industrial waste. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 38.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 40% 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: 33/100 — 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

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness 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

The #12 largest waste power plant of 18 in Spain by capacity.

Spain has 18 waste power plants in this dataset, together about 628 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Smurfit Mengíbar power station · Gas · 25.8 MW · Andalusia
• GUADALMENA · Hydro · 15.2 MW · Andalusia
• Los Olivares · Solar · 9.1 MW · Andalusia
• Calzada de Calatrava · Solar · 10 MW · Castille-La Mancha
• Puertollano · Solar · 50 MW · Castille-La Mancha
• Ibersol CSP · Solar · 50 MW · Castille-La Mancha

Location

Coordinates 38.207, -3.5102 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions