Kincardine power station — United Kingdom

Kincardine power station is a 760 MW coal power station in Fife, United Kingdom. It is operated by ScottishPower Ltd [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 951k homes (estimated). It ranks #69 of 2,860 United Kingdom power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1958, it is around 68 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, coal supplies about 0.1% of United Kingdom's electricity; the national grid averages 217 gCO₂/kWh (64.4% low-carbon) (2025).

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

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: Wikidata P2109; fuel: GEM GCPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 760 MW, Kincardine power station is below the median coal plant in United Kingdom (1,140 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. 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.

Key facts

Share of United Kingdom coal capacity

2.1% of 35,428 MW across 23 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 22 dated coal plants in United Kingdom is 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 United Kingdom

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

Owner

Operated by ScottishPower Ltd [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 56.1°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 41% 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: 75/100 — 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness 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 #19 largest coal power plant of 23 in United Kingdom by capacity.

United Kingdom has 23 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 35,428 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Longannet power station · Coal · 4,856 MW ·
• Grangemouth (GBTron) power station · Gas · 2,400 MW · Stirling
• Rosehill Wind Turbines · Wind · 2.4 MW · Scotland
• Caledon Green power station · Gas · 22.5 MW · Falkirk
• Caledonia Clean Energy Project · Coal · 570 MW · Falkirk
• Grangemouth power station · Gas · 145 MW · Stirling

Location

Coordinates 56.0735, -3.7285 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions