Gas power plant in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Approximate location -26.5633, 29.1676.
GasMpumalangaSouth AfricaCCGT · HRSGCO₂ modelled
Secunda power station is a 880 MW gas power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is operated by Sasol Synfuels Pty Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 991k homes (estimated). It ranks #31 of 152 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2011, it is around 15 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 2,721,800 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 634k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 0.0% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-6234.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 280 MW for Secunda power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).
Capacity claim grade: A3_MAJOR_REVIEW_SCOPE_STATUS - recommended action: manual_scope_status_check - confidence: low_until_scope_verified. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.
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: Climate TRACE source-record capacity (modelled/legacy); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel
At 880 MW, Secunda power station is well above the median gas plant in South Africa (670 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.
This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:
Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Sasol Synfuels Pty Ltd.
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 26.6°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 48% 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: 30/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
A gas turbine here also runs ~0% 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.
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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), 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 #7 largest gas power plant of 15 in South Africa by capacity.
South Africa has 15 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 19,062 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -26.5633, 29.1676 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Secunda power station is a 880 MW source-record gas power plant in Mpumalanga, South Africa, commissioned in 2011.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 991,131 homes (estimated).
Secunda power station is operated by Sasol Synfuels Pty Ltd.
Secunda power station has modelled emissions of about 2,721,800 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).
