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Altbach power station

Coal power plant in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Approximate location 48.7176, 9.3749.

CoalBaden-WuerttembergGermany

Altbach power station is a 769 MW coal power station in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. It is operated by Energie Baden-Württemberg. Based on reported annual generation of 1,887 GWh, it can supply roughly 539,171 homes. It ranks #41 of 1,369 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1992, it is around 34 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 20.6% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

769MW installed capacity
1,887GWh reported / yr
539,171homes powered
1992commissioned (~34 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1005737.

~1,887,100 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

439,883passenger cars driven for a year
246,101homes' yearly energy use
31,451,667tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Germany

Niederaussem power station: 3,430 MW3kNiederauss…Janschwalde power station: 2,790 MW3kJanschwald…Boxberg power station: 2,585 MW3kBoxberg po…BoA 2: 2,100 MW2kBoA 2Neurath power station: 2,068 MW2kNeurath po…GKM (Mannheim) power station: 1,958 MW2kGKM (Mannh…Weisweiler power station: 1,800 MW2kWeisweiler…Hamburg-Moorburg: 1,600 MW2kHamburg-Mo…

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

Owner

Operated by Energie Baden-Württemberg. 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 temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 48.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.4°Cannual mean temp
3,500heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
468 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 4 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 12 °CMJ: 15 °CJJ: 17 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 9 °CON: 4 °CND: 1 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 42% above 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: 76/100 — this site sits in the top 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 #22 largest coal power plant of 98 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 98 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 49,623 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 48.7176, 9.3749 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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