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Saint-Pierre

Solar power plant in Reunion, France. Approximate location -21.3194, 55.44.

SolarReunionFrance

Saint-Pierre is a 36 MW solar power plant in Reunion, France. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 15k homes (estimated). It ranks #222 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 5.6% of France's electricity; the national grid averages 41 gCO₂/kWh (94.9% low-carbon) (2025).

36Source-backed capacity
15,104homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023960.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySaint-Pierre WRI
CountryFrance · Reunion WRI
Coordinates-21.3194, 55.44 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity36 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#222 of 2216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#13 of 817 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers13.15× · 3 MW median · 817 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent15,104 calculated
Climate23.7°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 50/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

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 4 MW for Saint-Pierre (Reunion) solar farm, 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/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100001019320); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 36 MW, Saint-Pierre is well above the median solar plant in France (3 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

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

Capacity vs largest solar plants in France

Cestas: 300 MW300CestasLes Mées: 95 MW95Les MéesGréoux-les-Bains: 82 MW82Gréoux-les…Rosières-en-Haye: 79 MW79Rosières-e…Salaunes: 73 MW73SalaunesFontenet: 65 MW65FontenetLosse: 63 MW63LosseMassangis: 56 MW56Massangis

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

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 21.3°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

23.7°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,090cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
55 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 27 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 25 °CAM: 23 °CMJ: 22 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 23 °CON: 24 °CND: 26 °CD27 °C

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.6% at warm-season highs here (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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
50/100environmental-severity index
5.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
13 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 #13 largest solar power plant of 817 in France by capacity.

France has 817 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 5,030 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -21.3194, 55.44 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Saint-Pierre?

Saint-Pierre is a 36 MW source-record solar power plant in Reunion, France.

How many homes can Saint-Pierre power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 15,104 homes (estimated).

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