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Tutuka power station

Coal power plant in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Approximate location -26.7767, 29.3527.

CoalMpumalangaSouth AfricaCO₂ reported

Tutuka power station is a 3,654 MW coal power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is operated by Eskom. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 4,572,720 homes (estimated). It ranks #6 of 122 South Africa power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1987, it is around 39 years old — long-established. Its measured emissions of 13,506,600 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE) are equivalent to about 3,148,392 cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 81.4% of South Africa's electricity; the national grid averages 699 gCO₂/kWh (17.8% low-carbon) (2025).

3,654MW installed capacity
4,572,720homes powered (est.)
13,506,600t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1987commissioned (~39 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000135.

13,506,600 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

3,148,392passenger cars driven for a year
1,761,424homes' yearly energy use
225,110,000tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions reported to Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in South Africa

Medupi power station: 4,769 MW5kMedupi pow…Kendal power station: 4,116 MW4kKendal pow…Majuba power station: 4,110 MW4kMajuba pow…Matimba power station: 3,990 MW4kMatimba po…Lethabo power station: 3,708 MW4kLethabo po…Tutuka power station: 3,654 MW4kTutuka pow…Duvha power station: 3,600 MW4kDuvha powe…Matla power station: 3,600 MW4kMatla powe…

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

Owner

Operated by Eskom. 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 subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 26.8°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

14.8°Cannual mean temp
1,285heating degree-days (base 18°C)
112cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,583 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 20 °CJF: 19 °CFM: 18 °CMA: 15 °CAM: 11 °CMJ: 8 °CJJ: 8 °CJA: 11 °CAS: 15 °CSO: 17 °CON: 18 °CND: 19 °CD20 °C

Heating degree-days here run 48% 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: 30/100 — 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 #6 largest coal power plant of 18 in South Africa by capacity.

South Africa has 18 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 44,563 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -26.7767, 29.3527 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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