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Secunda power station

Other power plant in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Approximate location -26.5633, 29.1676.

OtherMpumalangaSouth AfricaCO₂ reported

Secunda power station is a 880 MW other power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is operated by Sasol Synfuels Pty Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 660,754 homes (estimated). It ranks #18 of 122 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Its measured emissions of 2,721,800 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 634,452 cars driven for a year. In context, the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).

880MW installed capacity
660,754homes powered (est.)
2,721,800t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-6234.

2,721,800 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

634,452passenger cars driven for a year
354,956homes' yearly energy use
45,363,333tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest other plants in South Africa

Secunda power station: 880 MW880Secunda po…Avon power station: 670 MW670Avon power…SASOL ONE: 314 MW314SASOL ONERichards Bay Mill power station: 150 MW150Richards B…

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

Owner

Operated by Sasol Synfuels Pty Ltd.

Local climate & thermal context

This other plant generates electricity for the grid. 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.

14.7°Cannual mean temp
1,271heating degree-days (base 18°C)
65cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,633 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 19 °CJF: 19 °CFM: 18 °CMA: 15 °CAM: 11 °CMJ: 8 °CJJ: 8 °CJA: 11 °CAS: 15 °CSO: 17 °CON: 17 °CND: 18 °CD19 °C

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.

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 #1 largest other power plant of 4 in South Africa by capacity.

South Africa has 4 other power plants in this dataset, together about 2,014 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -26.5633, 29.1676 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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