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Sainte-Rose

Solar power plant in Reunion, France. Approximate location -21.1355, 55.7936.

SolarReunionFrance

Sainte-Rose is a 16 MW solar power plant in Reunion, France. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 6.7k homes (estimated). It ranks #427 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).

16Legacy source-record capacity
6,680homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1024124.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySainte-Rose WRI
CountryFrance · Reunion WRI
Coordinates-21.1355, 55.7936 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity16 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#427 of 2216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#41 of 817 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers5.81× · 3 MW median · 817 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent6,680 calculated
Climate21.1°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityCX · 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.

Data provenance

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: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 16 MW, Sainte-Rose 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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen As) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 21.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

21.1°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,137cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
406 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 24 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 24 °CMA: 23 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 19 °CSO: 20 °CON: 21 °CND: 23 °CD24 °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 0.0% 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 extreme marine/tropical environment (estimated ISO 9223 class CX — Extreme), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

CXISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
50/100environmental-severity index
5.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
11 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 #41 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 -21.1355, 55.7936 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Sainte-Rose?

Sainte-Rose is a 16 MW source-record solar power plant in Reunion, France.

How many homes can Sainte-Rose power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 6,680 homes (estimated).

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