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Darling Downs

Gas power plant in Queensland, Australia. Approximate location -27.1169, 150.8942.

GasQueenslandAustralia

Darling Downs is a 644 MW gas power station in Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Origin Energy. Based on reported annual generation of 2,245 GWh, it can supply roughly 641,514 homes. It ranks #23 of 512 Australia power plants by installed capacity. In context, gas supplies about 16.4% of Australia's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (38.6% low-carbon) (2025).

644MW installed capacity
2,245GWh reported / yr
641,514homes powered

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id AUS0000156.

~898,120 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

209,352passenger cars driven for a year
117,126homes' yearly energy use
14,968,667tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical gas emission factor (~400 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2013: 2,881 GWh20132014: 3,323 GWh20142015: 4,338 GWh20152016: 3,674 GWh20162017: 3,343 GWh20172018: 2,245 GWh20184k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Origin Energy. 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 humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 27.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.7°Cannual mean temp
687heating degree-days (base 18°C)
947cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
360 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 24 °CFM: 23 °CMA: 19 °CAM: 16 °CMJ: 12 °CJJ: 11 °CJA: 13 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 20 °CON: 22 °CND: 24 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 72% 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: 23/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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.

A gas turbine here also runs ~3% 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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #5 largest gas power plant of 142 in Australia by capacity.

Australia has 142 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 21,303 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -27.1169, 150.8942 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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