Gas power plant in El Oro, Ecuador. Approximate location -3.116985, -79.879169.
GasEl OroEcuadorOCGT
Termogas Machala 1 power station is a 317 MW gas power station in El Oro, Ecuador. It is operated by Corporación Nacional de Electricidad EP [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 357k homes (estimated). It ranks #5 of 34 Ecuador power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2002, it is around 24 years old — relatively modern. In context, gas supplies about 2.7% of Ecuador's electricity; the national grid averages 159 gCO₂/kWh (79.4% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_termogasmachala1_ecuado.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 130 MW for Termogas Machala 1 power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).
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: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
At 317 MW, Termogas Machala 1 power station is well above the median gas plant in Ecuador (181 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.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Corporación Nacional de Electricidad EP [100%].
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 Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 3.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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.
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.
The #2 largest gas power plant of 8 in Ecuador by capacity.
Ecuador has 8 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 1,570 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -3.116985, -79.879169 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Termogas Machala 1 power station is a 317 MW gas power plant in El Oro, Ecuador, commissioned in 2002.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 357,032 homes (estimated).
Termogas Machala 1 power station is operated by Corporación Nacional de Electricidad EP [100%].
