Home / Europe / Germany / HKW 1

HKW 1 — Germany

Gas power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Approximate location 51.4707, 6.8616.

GasNorth Rhine-WestphaliaGermanyCO₂ measured

HKW 1 is a 23.1 MW gas power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is operated by Energieversorgung Oberhausen AG. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 26k homes (estimated). It ranks #532 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1972, it is around 54 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its annual emissions of 58,141 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 14k 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).

23.1MW installed capacity
26,017homes powered (est.)
58,141t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
1972commissioned (~54 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1005770.

Data status

Known data

FacilityHKW 1 WRI
CountryGermany · North Rhine-Westphalia WRI
Coordinates51.4707, 6.8616 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity23.1 MW GEM · 2026 · L100000400231; operating plant capacity
Verification noteQuality label backfilled from existing source-backed capacity provenance on 2026-07-05; capacity value was not changed. source-verified
OwnerEnergieversorgung Oberhausen AG WRI
Commissioned1972 WRI
CO₂ emissions58,141 t CO₂·a⁻¹ measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#532 / 1442 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#181 / 241 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.44× · 52.9 MW · n=241 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent26,017 calculated
Climate10.3°C · HDD 2,816 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 24/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000400231; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 23.1 MW, HKW 1 is below the median gas plant in Germany (52.9 MW). 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.

58,141 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1.1kmillion cubic feet of natural gas burned
12khomes' electricity use for a year
58kacres of US forest absorbing CO₂ for a year
0.04%of the CO₂ from all Germany power plants with an emissions figure in PowerAtlas

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

Key facts

Share of Germany gas capacity
less than 0.1% of 37,245 MW across 241 plants in this dataset
Age among peers
25 of 221 dated gas plants in Germany are older

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

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 Energieversorgung Oberhausen AG.

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 51.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

10.3°Cannual mean temp
2,816heating degree-days (base 18°C)
21cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
79 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 3 °CJF: 3 °CFM: 6 °CMA: 9 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 15 °CSO: 11 °CON: 6 °CND: 4 °CD18 °C

Heating degree-days here run 15% 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: 57/100 — 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

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
15.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
153 kmdistance to coast

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 #181 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 51.4707, 6.8616 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is HKW 1?

HKW 1 is a 23.1 MW gas power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, commissioned in 1972.

Who operates HKW 1?

HKW 1 is operated by Energieversorgung Oberhausen AG.

How much CO₂ does HKW 1 emit?

HKW 1 has measured emissions of about 58,141 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.