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Flensburg power station

Coal power plant in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Approximate location 54.8049, 9.4324.

CoalSchleswig-HolsteinGermanysubcriticalCO₂ measured

Flensburg power station is a 240 MW coal power station in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is operated by Stadtwerke Flensburg GmbH. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 300k homes (estimated). It ranks #149 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 512,592 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 119k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 20.6% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

240Source-backed capacity
300,342homes powered (est.)
512,592t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
1986commissioned (~40 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1005743.

Data status

Known data

FacilityFlensburg power station WRI
CountryGermany · Schleswig-Holstein WRI
Coordinates54.8049, 9.4324 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity240 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerStadtwerke Flensburg GmbH WRI
Commissioned1986 WRI
Technologysubcritical WRI
CO₂ emissions512,592 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#149 of 1442 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#64 of 124 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.81× · 296 MW median · 124 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent300,342 calculated
Climate8.2°C · HDD 3,579 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 27/100 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 31 MW for Flensburg power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: A3_MAJOR_REVIEW_SCOPE_STATUS - recommended action: manual_scope_status_check - confidence: low_until_scope_verified. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 L100000101993); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 240 MW, Flensburg power station is below the median coal plant in Germany (296 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. 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.

512,592 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

119kpassenger cars driven for a year
67khomes' yearly energy use
8.5 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023) (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Capacity vs largest coal plants in Germany

Niederaussem power station: 3,430 MW3kNiederauss…Janschwalde power station: 3,000 MW3kJanschwald…Boxberg power station: 2,582 MW3kBoxberg po…GKM (Mannheim) power station: 2,147 MW2kGKM (Mannh…BoA 2: 2,100 MW2kBoA 2Neurath power station: 2,068 MW2kNeurath po…Brunsbuettel SWS power station: 1,820 MW2kBrunsbuett…Weisweiler power station: 1,800 MW2kWeisweiler…

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

Owner

Operated by Stadtwerke Flensburg GmbH.

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 54.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.2°Cannual mean temp
3,579heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
37 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 1 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 3 °CMA: 6 °CAM: 11 °CMJ: 14 °CJJ: 16 °CJA: 16 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 9 °CON: 5 °CND: 2 °CD16 °C

Heating degree-days here run 46% 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: 78/100 — 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

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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
27/100environmental-severity index
15.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
79 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 #64 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

Location

Coordinates 54.8049, 9.4324 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Flensburg power station?

Flensburg power station is a 240 MW source-record coal power plant in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, commissioned in 1986.

How many homes can Flensburg power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 300,342 homes (estimated).

Who operates Flensburg power station?

Flensburg power station is operated by Stadtwerke Flensburg GmbH.

How much CO₂ does Flensburg power station emit?

Flensburg power station has measured emissions of about 512,592 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

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