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RTEC1

Gas power plant in Riga, Latvia. Approximate location 56.9904, 24.1788.

GasRigaLatvia

RTEC1 is a 138 MW gas power station in Riga, Latvia. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 155,427 homes (estimated). It ranks #5 of 5 Latvia power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 26.2% of Latvia's electricity; the national grid averages 139 gCO₂/kWh (73.0% low-carbon) (2025).

138MW installed capacity
155,427homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1022440.

~217,598 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

50,722passenger cars driven for a year
28,377homes' yearly energy use
3,626,640tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from installed capacity at a typical 45% load factor × a typical gas emission factor (~400 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Latvia

Riga Tec 2: 863 MW863Riga Tec 2RTEC1: 138 MW138RTEC1

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 warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 57.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

6.4°Cannual mean temp
4,228heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
11 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -4 °CJF: -4 °CFM: 0 °CMA: 6 °CAM: 12 °CMJ: 15 °CJJ: 17 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 12 °CSO: 7 °CON: 2 °CND: -2 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 72% above 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: 87/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% 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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #2 largest gas power plant of 2 in Latvia by capacity.

Latvia has 2 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 1,001 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 56.9904, 24.1788 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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