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Torrens Island A

Gas power plant in South Australia, Australia. Approximate location -34.8068, 138.5213.

GasSouth AustraliaAustralia

Torrens Island A is a 480 MW gas power station in South Australia, Australia. It is operated by AGL Energy Pty Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 541k homes (estimated). It ranks #49 of 536 Australia power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 16.4% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

480Source-backed capacity
540,617homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000240.

Data status

Known data

FacilityTorrens Island A WRI
CountryAustralia · South Australia WRI
Coordinates-34.8068, 138.5213 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity480 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerAGL Energy Pty Ltd WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions756,864 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#49 of 536 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#21 of 163 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers4.53× · 106 MW median · 163 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent540,617 calculated
Climate16.5°C · HDD 947 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 32/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

CommissionedNot 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 800 MW for Torrens Island power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: A3_MAJOR_REVIEW_SCOPE_STATUS - recommended action: manual_scope_status_check - confidence: low_until_scope_verified. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 L100000405140); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 480 MW, Torrens Island A is well above the median gas plant in Australia (106 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 Australia

Tomago Aluminium Smelter: 810 MW810Tomago Alu…Torrens Island B: 800 MW800Torrens Is…Marulan power station: 800 MW800Marulan po…Tallawarra: 796 MW796TallawarraKerrawary Power Station: 770 MW770Kerrawary …Callide Gas Peaker Power Plant: 750 MW750Callide Ga…Colongra: 724 MW724ColongraUranquinty: 664 MW664Uranquinty

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

Owner

Operated by AGL Energy Pty Ltd. 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 warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 34.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.5°Cannual mean temp
947heating degree-days (base 18°C)
374cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
52 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 20 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 12 °CJJ: 11 °CJA: 12 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 16 °CON: 18 °CND: 20 °CD22 °C

Heating degree-days here run 61% 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: 26/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~1% 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 a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
32/100environmental-severity index
11.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
90 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 #21 largest gas power plant of 163 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 163 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 29,942 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -34.8068, 138.5213 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Torrens Island A?

Torrens Island A is a 480 MW source-record gas power plant in South Australia, Australia.

How many homes can Torrens Island A power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 540,617 homes (estimated).

Who operates Torrens Island A?

Torrens Island A is operated by AGL Energy Pty Ltd.

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