Gas power plant in Managua, Nicaragua. Approximate location 12.257759, -86.083176.
GasManaguaNicaraguaEngineAnnounced
San Benito power station is a 150 MW gas power station in Managua, Nicaragua. It is operated by Empresa Nicaragüense de Electricidad. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 169k homes (estimated). It ranks #1 of 19 Nicaragua power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 0.0% of Nicaragua's electricity; the national grid averages 301 gCO₂/kWh (62.4% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_sanbenito_nicara.
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 GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
Technically it is described as Engine. Its current lifecycle status is “Announced” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Empresa Nicaragüense de Electricidad.
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 12.3°N — 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).
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 a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
The #1 largest gas power plant of 2 in Nicaragua by capacity.
Nicaragua has 2 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 215 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 12.257759, -86.083176 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
San Benito power station is a 150 MW gas power plant in Managua, Nicaragua.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 168,942 homes (estimated).
San Benito power station is operated by Empresa Nicaragüense de Electricidad.
