TERMOELECTRICA MEJILLONES (CTM1)

TERMOELECTRICA MEJILLONES (CTM1) is a 319 MW coal power station in Antofagasta, Chile. It is operated by E-CL. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 399,080 homes (estimated). It ranks #20 of 315 Chile power plants by installed capacity. In context, coal supplies about 17.8% of Chile's electricity; the national grid averages 289 gCO₂/kWh (66.4% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CHL0000015.

~1,396,782 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Estimated, not measured: from installed capacity at a typical 50% load factor × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Chile

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

Owner

Operated by E-CL. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 23.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 81% 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: 20/100 — 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 #7 largest coal power plant of 14 in Chile by capacity.

Chile has 14 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 4,839 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• ATACAMA (CC1-CC2) · Gas · 768 MW · Antofagasta
• DIESEL ENAEX (CUMMINS-DEUTZ) · Oil · 3 MW · Antofagasta
• TERMOELECTRICA ANGAMOS 1(ANG1)_ 2(ANG2) · Coal · 488 MW · Antofagasta
• MANTOS BLANCOS · Oil · 28 MW · Antofagasta
• Uribe · Solar · 50 MW · Antofagasta
• INACAL · Oil · 7 MW · Antofagasta

Location

Coordinates -23.0854, -70.41 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.