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Zuenita

Gas power plant in Sha`biyat al Wahat, Libya. Approximate location 30.9564, 20.1164.

GasSha`biyat al WahatLibyaOCGT

Zuenita is a 335 MW gas power station in Sha`biyat al Wahat, Libya. It is operated by General Electricity Company of Libya. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 377k homes (estimated). It ranks #18 of 27 Libya power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1994, it is around 32 years old — long-established. In context, gas supplies about 74.5% of Libya's electricity; the national grid averages 827 gCO₂/kWh (0.0% low-carbon) (2024).

335Legacy source-record capacity
377,305homes powered (est.)
1994commissioned (~32 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023826.

Data status

Known data

FacilityZuenita WRI
CountryLibya · Sha`biyat al Wahat WRI
Coordinates30.9564, 20.1164 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity335 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerGeneral Electricity Company of Libya WRI
Commissioned1994 WRI
TechnologyOCGT WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions528,228 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#18 of 27 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#17 of 19 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.34× · 1,000 MW median · 19 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent377,305 calculated
Climate20.6°C · HDD 464 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 58/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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 770 MW for Zueitina 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: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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

At 335 MW, Zuenita is below the median gas plant in Libya (1,000 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.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Libya

Al Khums: 1,610 MW2kAl KhumsBenghazi power station: 1,500 MW2kBenghazi p…Misrata: 1,470 MW1kMisrataAz Zawiyah: 1,440 MW1kAz ZawiyahBenghazi Simple Cycle Power Plant: 1,360 MW1kBenghazi S…New South Tripoli Gas power station: 1,320 MW1kNew South …Zliten power plant: 1,044 MW1kZliten pow…North Benghazi Station 1: 1,040 MW1kNorth Beng…

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

Owner

Operated by General Electricity Company of Libya. 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 hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 31.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

20.6°Cannual mean temp
464heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,411cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
21 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 13 °CJF: 14 °CFM: 16 °CMA: 20 °CAM: 24 °CMJ: 26 °CJJ: 26 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 23 °CON: 18 °CND: 14 °CD27 °C

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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~4% 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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
58/100environmental-severity index
14.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
35 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 #17 largest gas power plant of 19 in Libya by capacity.

Libya has 19 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 17,321 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 30.9564, 20.1164 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Zuenita?

Zuenita is a 335 MW source-record gas power plant in Sha`biyat al Wahat, Libya, commissioned in 1994.

How many homes can Zuenita power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 377,305 homes (estimated).

Who operates Zuenita?

Zuenita is operated by General Electricity Company of Libya.

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