Solar power plant in Leon, Nicaragua. Approximate location 12.2, -86.735.
SolarLeonNicaraguaPVPre Construction
Puerto Sandino is a 13 MW solar power plant in Leon, Nicaragua. It is operated by Newton Energy [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 5.4k homes (estimated). It ranks #19 of 19 Nicaragua power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 0.7% of Nicaragua's electricity; the national grid averages 301 gCO₂/kWh (62.4% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WKS0069472.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
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
Technically it is described as PV. Its current lifecycle status is “pre construction” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Operated by Newton Energy [100%].
This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 12.2°N — 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.
Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 1.4% at warm-season highs here (estimate).
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.
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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
Nicaragua has 1 solar power plant in this dataset, together about 13 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 12.2, -86.735 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Puerto Sandino is a 13 MW source-record solar power plant in Leon, Nicaragua, planned/announced for 2026.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 5,361 homes (estimated).
Puerto Sandino is operated by Newton Energy [100%].
