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Zouerate

Oil power plant in Tiris Zemmour, Mauritania. Approximate location 22.7231, -12.484.

OilTiris ZemmourMauritaniaEngine

Zouerate is a 14 MW oil power plant in Tiris Zemmour, Mauritania. It is operated by Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 11k homes (estimated). It ranks #7 of 8 Mauritania power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 77.3% of Mauritania's electricity; the national grid averages 512 gCO₂/kWh (22.7% low-carbon) (2024).

14Legacy source-record capacity
10,812homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023110.

Data status

Known data

FacilityZouerate WRI
CountryMauritania · Tiris Zemmour WRI
Coordinates22.7231, -12.484 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity14 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerSociété Nationale Industrielle et Minière SA [100%] WRI
TechnologyEngine WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions28,382 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#7 of 8 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#4 of 4 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent10,812 calculated
Climate25.9°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 44/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

CommissionedNot 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.

Data provenance

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: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as Engine. Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in Mauritania

Guelbs El Rhein: 67 MW67Guelbs El …Tasiast Mine power plant: 60 MW60Tasiast Mi…Nouakchott (Thermal): 52 MW52Nouakchott…Zouerate: 14 MW14Zouerate

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

Owner

Operated by Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière SA [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 22.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.9°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,907cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
377 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 18 °CJF: 20 °CFM: 23 °CMA: 24 °CAM: 27 °CMJ: 30 °CJJ: 33 °CJA: 34 °CAS: 32 °CSO: 28 °CON: 24 °CND: 19 °CD34 °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.

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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
44/100environmental-severity index
15.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
322 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 #4 largest oil power plant of 4 in Mauritania by capacity.

Mauritania has 4 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 193 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 22.7231, -12.484 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Zouerate?

Zouerate is a 14 MW source-record oil power plant in Tiris Zemmour, Mauritania.

How many homes can Zouerate power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 10,812 homes (estimated).

Who operates Zouerate?

Zouerate is operated by Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière SA [100%].

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