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Golbey power station

Biomass power plant in Lorraine, France. Approximate location 48.2155, 6.4248.

BiomassLorraineFranceCO₂ measured

Golbey power station is a 38 MW biomass power plant in Lorraine, France. It is operated by Pearl Infrastructure Capital. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 52k homes (estimated). It ranks #211 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. Its annual emissions of 23,878 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 5.6k 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).

38Legacy source-record capacity
51,621homes powered (est.)
23,878t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-183.

Data status

Known data

FacilityGolbey power station Climate TRACE
CountryFrance · Lorraine Climate TRACE
Coordinates48.2155, 6.4248 Climate TRACE
FuelBiomass Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity38 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPearl Infrastructure Capital Climate TRACE
CO₂ emissions23,878 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#211 of 2216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#6 of 158 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers12.93× · 3 MW median · 158 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent51,621 calculated
Climate8.6°C · HDD 3,414 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 25/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

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: Climate TRACE source-record capacity (modelled/legacy); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 38 MW, Golbey power station is well above the median biomass plant in France (3 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.

23,878 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

5.6kpassenger cars driven for a year
3.1khomes' yearly energy use
398ktree 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 biomass plants in France

Ivry-Paris XIII power station: 64 MW64Ivry-Paris…Issy-les-Moulineaux: 55 MW55Issy-les-M…Isséane Waste-To-Energy power station: 52 MW52Isséane Wa…Morcenx: 45 MW45MorcenxFos-sur-Mer: 40 MW40Fos-sur-MerGolbey power station: 38 MW38Golbey pow…Tarascon power station: 37 MW37Tarascon p…Alizay Paper Mill power station: 30 MW30Alizay Pap…

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

Owner

Operated by Pearl Infrastructure Capital.

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 48.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.6°Cannual mean temp
3,414heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
485 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 4 °CMA: 7 °CAM: 12 °CMJ: 15 °CJJ: 17 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 9 °CON: 4 °CND: 2 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 39% 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: 74/100 — 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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
25/100environmental-severity index
17.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
426 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 #6 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

Location

Coordinates 48.2155, 6.4248 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Golbey power station?

Golbey power station is a 38 MW source-record biomass power plant in Lorraine, France.

How many homes can Golbey power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 51,621 homes (estimated).

Who operates Golbey power station?

Golbey power station is operated by Pearl Infrastructure Capital.

How much CO₂ does Golbey power station emit?

Golbey power station has measured emissions of about 23,878 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

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