Rukuru power station is a 250 MW coal power station in Mzimba, Malawi. It is operated by Rukuru Power Co [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 313k homes (estimated). It ranks #4 of 10 Malawi power plants by installed capacity. In context, coal supplies about 0.0% of Malawi's electricity; the national grid averages 55 gCO₂/kWh (95.6% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_rukuru_malaw.
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 250 MW, Rukuru power station is below the median coal plant in Malawi (350 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Its current lifecycle status is “Announced” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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 Rukuru Power Co [100%].
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical (dry winter) climate (Köppen Cwa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 11.5°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).
The #4 largest coal power plant of 5 in Malawi by capacity.
Malawi has 5 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 4,120 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -11.45807, 34.015131 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Rukuru power station is a 250 MW coal power plant in Mzimba, Malawi.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 312,857 homes (estimated).
Rukuru power station is operated by Rukuru Power Co [100%].
