Fos-sur-Mer — France

Fos-sur-Mer is a 40.5 MW biomass power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. It is operated by ArcelorMittal Méditerranée SAS. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 56k homes (estimated). It ranks #205 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. Its modelled annual emissions are 136,030 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 32k cars driven for a year. In context, biomass supplies about 1.8% of France's electricity; the national grid averages 41 gCO₂/kWh (94.9% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023951.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000907848; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 40.5 MW, Fos-sur-Mer is well above the median biomass plant in France (2.9 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.

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

~136,030 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Key facts

Share of France biomass capacity

3.4% of 1,184 MW across 158 plants in this dataset

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

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in France

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

Owner

Operated by ArcelorMittal Méditerranée SAS.

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.5°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 37% 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: 35/100 — this site sits in the mid 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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion 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 #5 largest biomass power plant of 158 in France by capacity.

France has 158 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 1,184 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Fos-sur-Mer · Solar · 1.7 MW · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
• Fos-sur-Mer · Wind · 14 MW · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
• La Fossette · Solar · 6.5 MW · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
• COMBIGOLFE · Gas · 453 MW · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
• Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône · Solar · 2.3 MW · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
• Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône · Wind · 20 MW · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur

Location

Coordinates 43.4534, 4.8995 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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