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Berre refinery power station

Oil power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. Approximate location 43.4932, 5.1811.

OilProvence-Alpes-Cote d'AzurFranceSteamCO₂ modelled

Berre refinery power station is a 22 MW oil power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. It is operated by LyondellBasell Industries NV. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 17k homes (estimated). It ranks #327 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1980, it is around 46 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 61,728 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 14k cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 1.8% of France's electricity; the national grid averages 41 gCO₂/kWh (94.9% low-carbon) (2025).

22Source-backed capacity
16,518homes powered (est.)
61,728t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1980commissioned (~46 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-163.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBerre refinery power station Climate TRACE
CountryFrance · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Climate TRACE
Coordinates43.4932, 5.1811 Climate TRACE
FuelOil Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity22 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerLyondellBasell Industries NV Climate TRACE
Commissioned1980 Climate TRACE
TechnologySteam Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions61,728 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#327 of 2216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#16 of 18 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.17× · 133 MW median · 18 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent16,518 calculated
Climate14.7°C · HDD 1,672 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 39/100 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 (location L100001007659); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 22 MW, Berre refinery power station is below the median oil plant in France (133 MW). Technically it is described as Steam. 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.

~61,728 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

14kpassenger cars driven for a year
8.1khomes' yearly energy use
1.0 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Capacity vs largest oil plants in France

PORCHEVILLE: 2,300 MW2kPORCHEVILLECORDEMAIS: 1,370 MW1kCORDEMAISVaires power station: 600 MW600Vaires pow…BRENNILIS: 324 MW324BRENNILISARRIGHI: 254 MW254ARRIGHILucciana power station: 231 MW231Lucciana p…DIRINON: 184 MW184DIRINONTavaux Works power station: 141 MW141Tavaux Wor…

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

Owner

Operated by LyondellBasell Industries NV.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

14.7°Cannual mean temp
1,672heating degree-days (base 18°C)
482cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
101 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 7 °CJF: 8 °CFM: 10 °CMA: 13 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 16 °CON: 10 °CND: 8 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 32% 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: 37/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
39/100environmental-severity index
16.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
19 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 #16 largest oil power plant of 18 in France by capacity.

France has 18 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 5,920 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 43.4932, 5.1811 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Berre refinery power station?

Berre refinery power station is a 22 MW source-record oil power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, commissioned in 1980.

How many homes can Berre refinery power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 16,518 homes (estimated).

Who operates Berre refinery power station?

Berre refinery power station is operated by LyondellBasell Industries NV.

How much CO₂ does Berre refinery power station emit?

Berre refinery power station has modelled emissions of about 61,728 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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