Gas power plant in Birr, Switzerland. Approximate location 47.4374, 8.2149.
GasBirrSwitzerlandOCGTMothballed
Birr power station is a 250.4 MW gas power station in Birr, Switzerland. It is operated by General Electric Co. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 282k homes (estimated). It ranks #17 of 174 Switzerland power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2023, it is around 3 years old — recently built. In context, gas supplies about 0.4% of Switzerland's electricity; the national grid averages 39 gCO₂/kWh (97.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_birr_switze.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
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: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
Technically it is described as OCGT. Its current lifecycle status is “Mothballed” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by General Electric Co.
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 47.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
The #1 largest gas power plant of 3 in Switzerland by capacity.
Switzerland has 3 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 349 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 47.4374, 8.2149 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Birr power station is a 250.4 MW gas power plant in Birr, Switzerland, commissioned in 2023.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 282,021 homes (estimated).
Birr power station is operated by General Electric Co.
