Home / Europe / France / Sethelec D'Arles power station

Sethelec D'Arles power station

Gas power plant in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. Approximate location 43.67355, 4.60872.

GasProvence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurFranceOCGTCO₂ measured

Sethelec D'Arles power station is a 44 MW gas power plant in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is operated by ENGIE SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 50k homes (estimated). It ranks #196 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2002, it is around 24 years old — relatively modern. Its annual emissions of 305 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 71 cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 3.0% of France's electricity; the national grid averages 41 gCO₂/kWh (94.9% low-carbon) (2025).

44MW installed capacity
49,556homes powered (est.)
305t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
2002commissioned (~24 yrs)

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

Data status

Known data

FacilitySethelec D'Arles power station GEM-GOGPT
CountryFrance · Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur GEM-GOGPT
Coordinates43.67355, 4.60872 GEM-GOGPT
FuelGas GEM-GOGPT
MW installed capacity44 MW GEM · 2026 · L100000407634; operating plant capacity
OwnerENGIE SA [100%] GEM-GOGPT
Commissioned2002 GEM-GOGPT
TechnologyOCGT GEM-GOGPT
CO₂ emissions305 t CO₂·a⁻¹ measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#196 / 2216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#28 / 34 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.50× · 87.2 MW · n=34 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent49,556 calculated
Environmental severityC4 · 40/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

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

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000407634; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 44 MW, Sethelec D'Arles power station is below the median gas plant in France (87.2 MW). Technically it is described as OCGT. 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.

305 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

71passenger cars driven for a year
40homes' yearly energy use
5.1ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023) (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in France

MARTIGUES PONTEAU: 998 MW998MARTIGUES …EMILE HUCHET: 826 MW826EMILE HUCH…DK6: 808 MW808DK6BOUCHAIN 7: 575 MW575BOUCHAIN 7COMBIGOLFE: 453 MW453COMBIGOLFEPont-sur-Sambre: 450 MW450Pont-sur-S…Landivisiau power station: 446 MW446Landivisia…BLENOD 5: 427 MW427BLENOD 5

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

Owner

Operated by ENGIE SA [100%].

Climate zone & how it works

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~17°Ctypical annual mean
~27°Ctypical warm-season mean
Hot-summer mediterranean: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
40/100environmental-severity index
17.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
33 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 #28 largest gas power plant of 34 in France by capacity.

France has 34 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 7,707 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 43.67355, 4.60872 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Sethelec D'Arles power station?

Sethelec D'Arles power station is a 44 MW gas power plant in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, commissioned in 2002.

How many homes can Sethelec D'Arles power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 49,556 homes (estimated).

Who operates Sethelec D'Arles power station?

Sethelec D'Arles power station is operated by ENGIE SA [100%].

How much CO₂ does Sethelec D'Arles power station emit?

Sethelec D'Arles power station has measured emissions of about 305 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.