San Jose

Coal power plant in Escuintla, Guatemala. Approximate location 14.16, -90.787.

CoalEscuintlaGuatemala

San Jose is a 139 MW coal power station in Escuintla, Guatemala. Based on reported annual generation of 1,045 GWh, it can supply roughly 298,485 homes. It ranks #5 of 76 Guatemala power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2000, it is around 26 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 15.8% of Guatemala's electricity; the national grid averages 301 gCO₂/kWh (68.3% low-carbon) (2024).

139MW installed capacity
1,045GWh reported / yr
298,485homes powered
2000commissioned (~26 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061419.

~1,044,700 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

243,520passenger cars driven for a year
136,242homes' yearly energy use
17,411,667tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Guatemala

Jaguar Energy power station: 300 MW300Jaguar Ene…San Jose: 139 MW139San JoseLas Palmas II: 83 MW83Las Palmas…Costa Sur: 30 MW30Costa SurLa Libertad: 20 MW20La Libertad

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

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 14.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

27.4°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,439cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
40 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 26 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 28 °CMA: 29 °CAM: 28 °CMJ: 28 °CJJ: 28 °CJA: 28 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 27 °CON: 27 °CND: 26 °CD29 °C

Heating degree-days here run 100% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 13/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #2 largest coal power plant of 5 in Guatemala by capacity.

Guatemala has 5 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 572 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 14.16, -90.787 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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