Río Gallegos power station — Argentina

Río Gallegos power station is a 50 MW gas power plant in Santa Cruz, Argentina. It is operated by Industrias Juan F. Secco SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 56k homes (estimated). It ranks #113 of 275 Argentina power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 52.7% of Argentina's electricity; the national grid averages 346 gCO₂/kWh (41.6% low-carbon) (2025).

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

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 50 MW, Río Gallegos power station is below the median gas plant in Argentina (125 MW). Technically it is described as Engine. 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.

Key facts

Share of Argentina gas capacity

0.2% of 22,760 MW across 95 plants in this dataset

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Argentina

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

Owner

Operated by Industrias Juan F. Secco SA [100%].

Climate zone & how it works

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 51.6°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).

How it compares & nearby plants

The #72 largest gas power plant of 95 in Argentina by capacity.

Argentina has 95 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 22,760 MW of capacity.

Location

Coordinates -51.634092, -69.307459 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions