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Sertão 1

Solar power plant in Piaui, Brazil. Approximate location -8.51, -42.505.

SolarPiauiBrazil

Sertão 1 is a 30 MW solar power plant in Piaui, Brazil. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 13k homes (estimated). It ranks #703 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 11.8% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

30Legacy source-record capacity
12,764homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WKS0066262.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySertão 1 WRI
CountryBrazil · Piaui WRI
Coordinates-8.51, -42.505 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity30 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#703 of 2572 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#17 of 24 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.42× · 72 MW median · 24 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent12,764 calculated
Climate26.4°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 39/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

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: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 30 MW, Sertão 1 is below the median solar plant in Brazil (72 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest solar plants in Brazil

Ituverava: 210 MW210ItuveravaNova Olinda: 210 MW210Nova OlindaBJL ENEL: 158 MW158BJL ENELGuaimbe: 150 MW150GuaimbePirapora I: 150 MW150Pirapora IApodi: 132 MW132ApodiParacatu: 120 MW120ParacatuPirapora II: 115 MW115Pirapora II

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

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 8.5°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

26.4°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,076cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
376 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 27 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 28 °CON: 28 °CND: 27 °CD28 °C

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.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 1.0% at warm-season highs here (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

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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
39/100environmental-severity index
3.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
662 kmdistance to coast

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #17 largest solar power plant of 24 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 24 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 1,825 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -8.51, -42.505 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Sertão 1?

Sertão 1 is a 30 MW source-record solar power plant in Piaui, Brazil.

How many homes can Sertão 1 power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 12,764 homes (estimated).

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