Boxberg power station — Germany

Boxberg power station is a 2,582 MW coal power station in Saxony, Germany. It is operated by Vattenfall Europe AG. Based on reported annual generation of 17,442 GWh, it can supply roughly 5.0 million homes. It ranks #4 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1989, it is around 37 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).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1005616.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000101978; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 2,582 MW, Boxberg power station is well above the median coal plant in Germany (296.2 MW). Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Load factor

77%, from 17,442 GWh of reported generation; the median for 42 coal plants in Germany that report generation is 47%

Generation trend

17,877 GWh in 2015 and 17,442 GWh in 2017 (−2%)

Highest and lowest year

2015: 17,877 GWh; 2016: 16,940 GWh

Share of Germany coal capacity

4.0% of 64,920 MW across 124 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

71 of 117 dated coal plants in Germany are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Vattenfall Europe AG. 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 51.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 33% 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: 70/100 — this site sits in the top 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

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

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 #3 largest coal power plant of 124 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 124 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 64,920 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Boxberg · Solar · 3.7 MW · Saxony
• Rietschen Solar Power Plant · Solar · 2.2 MW · Saxony
• Zerre · Solar · 8 MW · Brandenburg
• Spremberg · Solar · 3.6 MW · Brandenburg
• Altheim · Hydro · 17.8 MW · Brandenburg
• Elsterheide Solar Power Plant · Solar · 20 MW · Saxony

Location

Coordinates 51.419696, 14.575308 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions