Kunming power station is a 600 MW coal power station in Yunnan, China. It is operated by Huadian Power International Company Limited. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 751k homes (estimated). It ranks #1556 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 2,277,900 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 531k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 54.3% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1070090.
Data status
Known data
Modelled source data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
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 · L100000101721; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 600 MW, Kunming power station is below the median coal plant in China (700 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.
~2,277,900 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms
This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:
Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.
Key facts
- Share of China coal capacity
- less than 0.1% of 1,882,493 MW across 1,907 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 211 of 1,446 dated coal plants in China are 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 China
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Huadian Power International Company Limited. All plants by this company →
Local climate & thermal context
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 25.0°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 50% below 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: 29/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), 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 #1172 largest coal power plant of 1907 in China by capacity.
China has 1907 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 1,882,493 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Kunming Steel Gas power project · Gas · 100 MW · Yunnan
- Fumin Dafengyakou Wind · Wind · 33 MW · Yunnan
- Fumin Mayingshan Wind · Wind · 40 MW · Yunnan
- Yunnan Kunming Xishan District power station · Biomass · 36 MW · Yunnan
- Yunnan Desheng Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. Gas Power Project · Gas · 80 MW · Yunnan
- Yunan Fumin Baihuashan Wind · Wind · 48 MW · Yunnan
Location
Coordinates 25.0148, 102.3329 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Kunming power station?
Kunming power station is a 600 MW coal power plant in Yunnan, China, commissioned in 2001.
Who operates Kunming power station?
Kunming power station is operated by Huadian Power International Company Limited.
How much CO₂ does Kunming power station emit?
Kunming power station has modelled emissions of about 2,277,900 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).