Home / Europe / Spain / Álabe Villarrubia power station

Álabe Villarrubia power station

Gas power plant in Castille-La Mancha, Spain. Approximate location 39.9856, -3.369.

GasCastille-La ManchaSpainCCGT · HRSGCO₂ modelled

Álabe Villarrubia power station is a 25 MW gas power plant in Castille-La Mancha, Spain. It is operated by FMC Foret SA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 28k homes (estimated). It ranks #492 of 899 Spain power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1996, it is around 30 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 21,106 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 4.9k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 21.6% of Spain's electricity; the national grid averages 154 gCO₂/kWh (74.6% low-carbon) (2025).

25Source-backed capacity
1HRSG unit(s)
28,157homes powered (est.)
21,106t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1996commissioned (~30 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-290.

Data status

Known data

FacilityÁlabe Villarrubia power station Climate TRACE
CountrySpain · Castille-La Mancha Climate TRACE
Coordinates39.9856, -3.369 Climate TRACE
FuelGas Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity25 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerFMC Foret SA Climate TRACE
Commissioned1996 Climate TRACE
TechnologyCCGT · HRSG Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions21,106 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#492 of 899 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#68 of 95 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.46× · 54 MW median · 95 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent28,157 calculated
Climate13.9°C · HDD 2,034 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 36/100 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.

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 operating-unit sum (location L100000400646); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 25 MW, Álabe Villarrubia power station is below the median gas plant in Spain (54 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). 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.

~21,106 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

4.9kpassenger cars driven for a year
2.8khomes' yearly energy use
352ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Spain

BESOS GRUPO 5: 1,671 MW2kBESOS GRU…ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA GRUPO 1: 1,585 MW2kARCOS DE L…CARTAGENA GRUPO 1: 1,249 MW1kCARTAGENA …Cartagena (Escombreras) power station: 1,249 MW1kCartagena …CCC SAGUNTO GRUPO 2: 1,232 MW1kCCC SAGUNT…ESCOMBRERAS GRUPO 1: 1,199 MW1kESCOMBRERA…El Fangal power station: 1,199 MW1kEl Fangal …PALOS DE LA FRONTERA GRUPO 1: 1,167 MW1kPALOS DE L…

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

Owner

Operated by FMC Foret SA.

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 cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 40.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

13.9°Cannual mean temp
2,034heating degree-days (base 18°C)
568cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
749 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 5 °CJF: 7 °CFM: 10 °CMA: 11 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 14 °CON: 9 °CND: 6 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 17% 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: 44/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% 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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
36/100environmental-severity index
19.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
308 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 #68 largest gas power plant of 95 in Spain by capacity.

Spain has 95 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 32,018 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 39.9856, -3.369 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Álabe Villarrubia power station?

Álabe Villarrubia power station is a 25 MW source-record gas power plant in Castille-La Mancha, Spain, commissioned in 1996.

How many homes can Álabe Villarrubia power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 28,157 homes (estimated).

Who operates Álabe Villarrubia power station?

Álabe Villarrubia power station is operated by FMC Foret SA.

How much CO₂ does Álabe Villarrubia power station emit?

Álabe Villarrubia power station has modelled emissions of about 21,106 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.