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Termoceará

Gas power plant in Ceara, Brazil. Approximate location -3.6925, -38.871667.

GasCearaBrazilOCGTCO₂ modelled

Termoceará is a 220 MW gas power station in Ceara, Brazil. It is operated by Petróleo Brasileiro SA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 248k homes (estimated). It ranks #184 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2002, it is around 24 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 37,416 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 8.7k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 7.3% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

220Source-backed capacity
247,782homes powered (est.)
37,416t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2002commissioned (~24 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0028358.

Data status

Known data

FacilityTermoceará WRI
CountryBrazil · Ceara WRI
Coordinates-3.6925, -38.871667 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity220 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPetróleo Brasileiro SA WRI
Commissioned2002 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions37,416 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#184 of 2572 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#81 of 195 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.20× · 100 MW median · 195 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent247,782 calculated
Climate26.0°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 48/100 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 tracker 2026 (location L100000406545); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 220 MW, Termoceará is well above the median gas plant in Brazil (100 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.

~37,416 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

8.7kpassenger cars driven for a year
4.9khomes' yearly energy use
624ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Brazil

Porto Norte Fluminense power station: 3,400 MW3kPorto Nort…Porto de Sergipe power station: 2,909 MW3kPorto de S…Power Maricá power station: 2,600 MW3kPower Mari…Jandaia power station: 2,430 MW2kJandaia po…Vila do Conde power station: 2,310 MW2kVila do Co…Termopecém power station: 2,240 MW2kTermopecém…Tupã power station: 2,040 MW2kTupã power…GNA III power station: 1,927 MW2kGNA III po…

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

Owner

Operated by Petróleo Brasileiro SA. All plants by this company →

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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen As) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 3.7°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

26.0°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,923cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
76 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 27 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 26 °CON: 27 °CND: 27 °CD27 °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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~8% 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)
48/100environmental-severity index
1.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
27 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 #81 largest gas power plant of 195 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 195 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 74,861 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -3.6925, -38.871667 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Termoceará?

Termoceará is a 220 MW source-record gas power plant in Ceara, Brazil, commissioned in 2002.

How many homes can Termoceará power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 247,782 homes (estimated).

Who operates Termoceará?

Termoceará is operated by Petróleo Brasileiro SA.

How much CO₂ does Termoceará emit?

Termoceará has modelled emissions of about 37,416 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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