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Kalkar nuclear power plant

Nuclear power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Approximate location 51.7637, 6.3272.

NuclearNorth Rhine-WestphaliaGermanySNR-300fast breeder reactor

Kalkar nuclear power plant is a 327 MW nuclear power station in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 737k homes (estimated). It ranks #116 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, nuclear supplies about 0.0% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

327MW installed capacity
736,590homes powered (est.)

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

Data status

Known data

FacilityKalkar nuclear power plant GEM-nuclear
CountryGermany · North Rhine-Westphalia GEM-nuclear
Coordinates51.7637, 6.3272 GEM-nuclear
FuelNuclear GEM-nuclear
MW installed capacity327 MW GEM GNPT; source record
Technologyfast breeder reactor GEM-nuclear

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#116 / 1442 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#18 / 25 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.25× · 1,302 MW · n=25 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent736,590 calculated
Environmental severityC3 · 28/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

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: GEM GNPT; fuel: GEM GNPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 327 MW, Kalkar nuclear power plant is below the median nuclear plant in Germany (1,302 MW). Technically it is described as fast breeder reactor. Nuclear plants split uranium to raise steam with no direct CO₂; they run as steady baseload with very high capacity factors and the longest operating lifetimes of any thermal plant.

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

Capacity vs largest nuclear plants in Germany

Stendal nuclear power plant: 4,000 MW4kStendal nu…Kernkraft Gundremmingen: 2,572 MW3kKernkraft …Biblis nuclear power plant: 2,525 MW3kBiblis nuc…ISAR-2: 1,485 MW1kISAR-2BROKDORF: 1,480 MW1kBROKDORFPHILIPPSBURG-2: 1,468 MW1kPHILIPPSBU…Grohnde: 1,430 MW1kGrohndeUnterweser nuclear power plant: 1,410 MW1kUnterweser…

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

Climate zone & how it works

This nuclear plant uses heat from nuclear fission to raise steam for a turbine-generator. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 51.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~11°Ctypical annual mean
~18°Ctypical warm-season mean
Temperate oceanic: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
28/100environmental-severity index
15.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
88 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 #18 largest nuclear power plant of 25 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 25 nuclear power plants in this dataset, together about 26,511 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 51.7637, 6.3272 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Kalkar nuclear power plant?

Kalkar nuclear power plant is a 327 MW nuclear power plant in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

How many homes can Kalkar nuclear power plant power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 736,590 homes (estimated).

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