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Sfax

Gas power plant in Safaqis, Tunisia. Approximate location 34.8073, 10.7031.

GasSafaqisTunisia

Sfax is a 44 MW gas power plant in Safaqis, Tunisia. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 50k homes (estimated). It ranks #22 of 30 Tunisia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1977, it is around 49 years old — long-established. In context, gas supplies about 94.9% of Tunisia's electricity; the national grid averages 560 gCO₂/kWh (4.0% low-carbon) (2025).

44Legacy source-record capacity
49,556homes powered (est.)
1977commissioned (~49 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023597.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySfax WRI
CountryTunisia · Safaqis WRI
Coordinates34.8073, 10.7031 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity44 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1977 WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions69,379 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#22 of 30 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#20 of 22 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.12× · 357 MW median · 22 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent49,556 calculated
Climate19.1°C · HDD 726 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 62/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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 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 44 MW, Sfax is below the median gas plant in Tunisia (357 MW). 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.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Tunisia

Rades A1: 700 MW700Rades A1Mornaguia power station: 624 MW624Mornaguia …Bir Mcherga 1: 496 MW496Bir Mcherg…IPP Rades 2: 470 MW470IPP Rades 2Skhira 1 power station: 450 MW450Skhira 1 p…Skhira 2 power station: 450 MW450Skhira 2 p…Sousse C: 424 MW424Sousse CSousse D: 424 MW424Sousse D

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

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 hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 34.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

19.1°Cannual mean temp
726heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,132cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
21 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 12 °CJF: 12 °CFM: 14 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 20 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 22 °CON: 16 °CND: 13 °CD27 °C

Heating degree-days here run 70% 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: 23/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~3% 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

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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
62/100environmental-severity index
15.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
7 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 #20 largest gas power plant of 22 in Tunisia by capacity.

Tunisia has 22 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 6,360 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 34.8073, 10.7031 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Sfax?

Sfax is a 44 MW source-record gas power plant in Safaqis, Tunisia, commissioned in 1977.

How many homes can Sfax power?

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

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