Coal power plant in , South Africa. Approximate location -28.8, 32.1.
CoalSouth Africasubcritical
Richards Bay Umbani power station is a 270 MW coal power station in , South Africa. It is operated by Umbani Power [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 338k homes (estimated). It ranks #55 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. In context, coal supplies about 81.4% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_richardsbayumbani_south.
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: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT
At 270 MW, Richards Bay Umbani power station is below the median coal plant in South Africa (1,180 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Umbani Power [100%].
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 28.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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.
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.
The #34 largest coal power plant of 37 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 37 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 67,847 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -28.8, 32.1 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Richards Bay Umbani power station is a 270 MW coal power plant in , South Africa.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 337,885 homes (estimated).
Richards Bay Umbani power station is operated by Umbani Power [100%].
