Santa Cruz power station (Brazil)

Santa Cruz power station (Brazil) is a 1,136 MW gas power station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is operated by Âmbar Energia SA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.3 million homes (estimated). It ranks #52 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2023, it is around 3 years old — recently built. Its modelled annual emissions are 232,454 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 54k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 7.3% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-5533.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 500 MW for Santa Cruz power station (Brazil), but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: Climate TRACE; fuel: Climate TRACE

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,136 MW, Santa Cruz power station (Brazil) is well above the median gas plant in Brazil (100.2 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). 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.

~232,454 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Key facts

Share of Brazil gas capacity

1.5% of 74,861 MW across 195 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

128 of 140 dated gas plants in Brazil are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Brazil

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

Owner

Operated by Âmbar Energia SA. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

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) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 22.9°S — 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~6% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, 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

This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness 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 #25 largest gas power plant of 195 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 195 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 74,861 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Do Atlântico · Oil · 490 MW · Rio de Janeiro
• Karkey 019 power station · Gas · 115.9 MW · Rio de Janeiro
• Porsud I power station · Gas · 115.9 MW · Rio de Janeiro
• Porsud II power station · Gas · 78 MW · Rio de Janeiro
• Karkey 013 power station · Gas · 258.7 MW · Rio de Janeiro
• Rio Data power station · Gas · 630 MW · Rio de Janeiro

Location

Coordinates -22.9145, -43.7654 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions