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Rades A1

Gas power plant in Tunis, Tunisia. Approximate location 36.7967, 10.283.

GasTunisTunisia

Rades A1 is a 700 MW gas power station in Tunis, Tunisia. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 788k homes (estimated). It ranks #1 of 30 Tunisia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1985, it is around 41 years old — long-established. In context, gas supplies about 94.9% of Tunisia's electricity; the national grid averages 560 gCO₂/kWh (4.0% low-carbon) (2025).

700Legacy source-record capacity
788,400homes powered (est.)
1985commissioned (~41 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023609.

Data status

Known data

FacilityRades A1 WRI
CountryTunisia · Tunis WRI
Coordinates36.7967, 10.283 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity700 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1985 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions1,103,760 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#1 of 30 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1 of 22 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.96× · 357 MW median · 22 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent788,400 calculated
Climate18.7°C · HDD 773 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 44/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 340 MW for Rades A power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: D_REJECT_KEEP_MASTER - recommended action: keep_master - confidence: rejected_candidate. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 700 MW, Rades A1 is well above the median gas plant in Tunisia (357 MW). Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

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

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Tunisia

Rades A1: 700 MW700Rades A1Mornaguia power station: 624 MW624Mornaguia …Bir Mcherga 1: 496 MW496Bir Mcherg…IPP Rades 2: 470 MW470IPP Rades 2Skhira 1 power station: 450 MW450Skhira 1 p…Skhira 2 power station: 450 MW450Skhira 2 p…Sousse C: 424 MW424Sousse CSousse D: 424 MW424Sousse D

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

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 36.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.7°Cannual mean temp
773heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,043cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
67 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 12 °CJF: 12 °CFM: 14 °CMA: 16 °CAM: 19 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 21 °CON: 16 °CND: 13 °CD27 °C

Heating degree-days here run 69% 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: 24/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~3% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, 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.

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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
44/100environmental-severity index
15.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
48 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 #1 largest gas power plant of 22 in Tunisia by capacity.

Tunisia has 22 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 6,360 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 36.7967, 10.283 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Rades A1?

Rades A1 is a 700 MW source-record gas power plant in Tunis, Tunisia, commissioned in 1985.

How many homes can Rades A1 power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 788,400 homes (estimated).

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