Santa Cruz — Cuba
Oil power plant in Mayabeque, Cuba. Approximate location 23.1592, -81.9538.
OilMayabequeCuba
Santa Cruz is a 300 MW oil power station in Mayabeque, Cuba. It is operated by Unión Eléctrica. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 225k homes (estimated). It ranks #12 of 22 Cuba power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 82.3% of Cuba's electricity; the national grid averages 643 gCO₂/kWh (4.0% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1002022.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 300 MW, Santa Cruz is below the median oil plant in Cuba (370 MW). Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Key facts
- Share of Cuba oil capacity
- 5.8% of 5,165 MW across 16 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 oil plants in Cuba
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Unión Eléctrica. All plants by this company →
Local climate & thermal context
This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 23.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
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.
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
This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.
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 #10 largest oil power plant of 16 in Cuba by capacity.
Cuba has 16 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 5,165 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Boca de Jaruco · Gas · 313 MW · Mayabeque
- Powership Erol Bey power station · Oil · 63 MW · La Habana
- Antonio Guiteras Powerplant · Oil · 330 MW · Matanzas
- Havana TPP · Oil · 500 MW · La Habana
- Varadero Powerplant · Gas · 173 MW · Matanzas
- CTE Máximo Gómez power station · Oil · 370 MW · Artemisa
Location
Coordinates 23.1592, -81.9538 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz is a 300 MW oil power plant in Mayabeque, Cuba.
Who operates Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz is operated by Unión Eléctrica.