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Gersteinwerk

Gas power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Approximate location 51.6725, 7.7099.

GasNorth Rhine-WestphaliaGermanyCCGT · HRSGAnsaldo EnergiaCO₂ measured

Gersteinwerk is a 2,004 MW gas power station in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by RWE Generation SE. Based on reported annual generation of 2,525 GWh, it can supply roughly 721k homes. It ranks #10 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its annual emissions of 17,373 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 4.0k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 16.5% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

2,004Legacy source-record capacity
4HRSG unit(s)
2,525GWh reported / yr
721,400homes powered
17,373t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1005694.

Data status

Known data

FacilityGersteinwerk WRI
CountryGermany · North Rhine-Westphalia WRI
Coordinates51.6725, 7.7099 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity2,004 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerRWE Generation SE WRI
Commissioned1973 WRI
TechnologyCCGT · Ansaldo Energia · HRSG WRI
GWh reported / yr2,525 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions17,373 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#10 of 1442 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1 of 241 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers37.89× · 53 MW median · 241 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent721,400 calculated from reported generation
Climate9.5°C · HDD 3,077 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 24/100 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 1,390 MW for Gersteinwerk 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 fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 2,004 MW, Gersteinwerk is well above the median gas plant in Germany (53 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG); Ansaldo Energia. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

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

17,373 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

4.0kpassenger cars driven for a year
2.3khomes' yearly energy use
290ktree 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 gas plants in Germany

Gersteinwerk: 2,004 MW2kGersteinwe…Emsland: 1,837 MW2kEmslandGemeinschaftskraftwerk Irsching: 1,391 MW1kGemeinscha…Knapsack Natural Gas I: 1,252 MW1kKnapsack N…Gundelfingen Reserve power station: 1,200 MW1kGundelfing…RWE Burghausen power station: 950 MW950RWE Burgha…Bexbach-C power station: 900 MW900Bexbach-C …Leipheim power station: 869 MW869Leipheim p…

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

Owner

Operated by RWE Generation SE. 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 temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 51.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

9.5°Cannual mean temp
3,077heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
94 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 2 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 5 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 10 °CON: 6 °CND: 3 °CD18 °C

Heating degree-days here run 25% 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: 64/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% 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.

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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
24/100environmental-severity index
15.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
193 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 #1 largest gas power plant of 241 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 241 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 37,245 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 51.6725, 7.7099 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Gersteinwerk?

Gersteinwerk is a 2,004 MW source-record gas power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, commissioned in 1973.

How much electricity does Gersteinwerk generate?

Gersteinwerk generates about 2,525 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Gersteinwerk power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 721,400 homes.

Who operates Gersteinwerk?

Gersteinwerk is operated by RWE Generation SE.

How much CO₂ does Gersteinwerk emit?

Gersteinwerk has measured emissions of about 17,373 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

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