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Ballylumford C

Gas power plant in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Approximate location 54.8428, -5.7853.

GasNorthern IrelandUnited Kingdom

Ballylumford C is a 616 MW gas power station in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. It is operated by AES. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 694k homes (estimated). It ranks #77 of 2,860 United Kingdom power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 31.1% of United Kingdom's electricity; the national grid averages 217 gCO₂/kWh (64.4% low-carbon) (2025).

616Source-backed capacity
693,792homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GBR1000001.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBallylumford C WRI
CountryUnited Kingdom · Northern Ireland WRI
Coordinates54.8428, -5.7853 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity616 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerAES WRI

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions971,309 t CO₂/yr calculated
Capacity rank in country#77 of 2860 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#32 of 130 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers5.36× · 115 MW median · 130 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent693,792 calculated
Climate8.8°C · HDD 3,347 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 24/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 720 MW for Ballylumford 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/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 (location L100000401443); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 616 MW, Ballylumford C is well above the median gas plant in United Kingdom (115 MW). 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 United Kingdom

Grangemouth (GBTron) power station: 2,400 MW2kGrangemout…Pembroke: 2,305 MW2kPembrokeFerrybridge-C power station: 2,300 MW2kFerrybridg…Walpole power station: 2,000 MW2kWalpole po…King's Lynn-B power station: 1,999 MW2kKing's Lyn…Staythorpe C: 1,772 MW2kStaythorpe…Tees Combined-Cycle Power Plant: 1,700 MW2kTees Combi…Thorpe Marsh power station: 1,576 MW2kThorpe Mar…

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

Owner

Operated by AES. 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 temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 54.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.8°Cannual mean temp
3,347heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
90 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 4 °CJF: 4 °CFM: 6 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 10 °CMJ: 13 °CJJ: 15 °CJA: 14 °CAS: 12 °CSO: 9 °CON: 6 °CND: 4 °CD15 °C

Heating degree-days here run 36% 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: 72/100 — this site sits in the top 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
24/100environmental-severity index
11.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
66 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 #32 largest gas power plant of 130 in United Kingdom by capacity.

United Kingdom has 130 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 52,329 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 54.8428, -5.7853 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Ballylumford C?

Ballylumford C is a 616 MW source-record gas power plant in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

How many homes can Ballylumford C power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 693,792 homes (estimated).

Who operates Ballylumford C?

Ballylumford C is operated by AES.

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