Datong - Tashan Coal is a 4,520 MW coal power station in Shanxi Sheng, China. It is operated by Tongmei Tashan Power Station. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 5.7 million homes (estimated). It ranks #66 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2008, it is around 18 years old — relatively modern. In context, coal supplies about 54.3% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1070203.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
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 2,520 MW for Tongmei Tashan power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).
Data provenance
Source of the capacity and fuel values:
capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000101529; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 4,520 MW, Datong - Tashan Coal is well above the median coal plant in China (700 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
- Share of China coal capacity
- 0.2% of 1,882,493 MW across 1,907 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 596 of 1,446 dated coal plants in China are older
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest coal plants in China
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Tongmei Tashan Power Station.
Local climate & thermal context
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a monsoon warm-summer continental climate (Köppen Dwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.9°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 69% 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: 86/100 — 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 thermal cycling 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 #20 largest coal power plant of 1907 in China by capacity.
China has 1907 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 1,882,493 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Datong - SDIC Coal · Coal · 270 MW · Shanxi Sheng
- Tongmei Datang power station · Coal · 660 MW · Shanxi Sheng
- Tongmei Tashan power station · Coal · 2,520 MW · Shanxi Sheng
- Datong TopRunner · Solar · 1,000 MW · Shanxi Sheng
- Tashan · Solar · 20 MW · Shanxi Sheng
- Datang Yungang power station · Coal · 1,040 MW · Shanxi Sheng
Location
Coordinates 39.9261, 113.0843 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Datong - Tashan Coal?
Datong - Tashan Coal is a 4,520 MW coal power plant in Shanxi Sheng, China, commissioned in 2008.
Who operates Datong - Tashan Coal?
Datong - Tashan Coal is operated by Tongmei Tashan Power Station.