GEPIC Zhangye power station is a 650 MW coal power station in Gansu Sheng, China. It is operated by GEPIC Zhangye Co Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 813k homes (estimated). It ranks #1484 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2006, it is around 20 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 2,208,400 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 515k cars driven for a year. 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 WRI1070584.
Data status
Known data
Modelled source 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 2,650 MW for Zhangye 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 · L100000100320; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 650 MW, GEPIC Zhangye power station is around the median coal plant in China (700 MW). Technically it is described as ultra-supercritical. 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.
~2,208,400 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 China coal capacity
- less than 0.1% of 1,882,493 MW across 1,907 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 417 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 GEPIC Zhangye Co Ltd.
Local climate & thermal context
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.1°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 67% 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: 85/100 — 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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion 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 #1104 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
- Gansu Zhangye (West China Energy) power station · Biomass · 12 MW · Gansu Sheng
- Xiaogushan · Hydro · 102 MW · Gansu Sheng
- Gansu Zhangye Shimiao Stage 2 · Hydro · 8 MW · Gansu Sheng
- Gansu Zhangye Yingke · Hydro · 7 MW · Gansu Sheng
- Linze C · Solar · 10 MW · Gansu Sheng
- Linze A · Solar · 50 MW · Gansu Sheng
Location
Coordinates 39.0709, 100.4621 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is GEPIC Zhangye power station?
GEPIC Zhangye power station is a 650 MW coal power plant in Gansu Sheng, China, commissioned in 2006.
Who operates GEPIC Zhangye power station?
GEPIC Zhangye power station is operated by GEPIC Zhangye Co Ltd.
How much CO₂ does GEPIC Zhangye power station emit?
GEPIC Zhangye power station has modelled emissions of about 2,208,400 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).