Maritsa 3 power station is a 120 MW coal power station in Khaskovo, Bulgaria. It ranks #23 of 55 Bulgaria power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1971, it is around 55 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its annual emissions of 73,524 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 17k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 22.5% of Bulgaria's electricity; the national grid averages 276 gCO₂/kWh (71.9% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1008058.
Data status
Known 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: Wikidata P2109; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
At 120 MW, Maritsa 3 power station is below the median coal plant in Bulgaria (180 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Its current lifecycle status is “Mothballed” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.
73,524 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms
This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:
Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023) (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).
How it compares & nearby plants
The #9 largest coal power plant of 14 in Bulgaria by capacity.
Bulgaria has 14 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 5,419 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Zdravets · Solar · 15.6 MW · Khaskovo
- Karadzhalovo · Solar · 60 MW · Stara Zagora
- Brikel power station · Coal · 200 MW · Stara Zagora
- AES Galabovo · Coal · 690 MW · Stara Zagora
- Maritsa Itzok-3 power station · Coal · 908 MW · Stara Zagora
- Yerusalimovo · Solar · 7.7 MW · Khaskovo
Location
Coordinates 42.0519, 25.6231 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Maritsa 3 power station?
Maritsa 3 power station is a 120 MW coal power plant in Khaskovo, Bulgaria, commissioned in 1971.
How much CO₂ does Maritsa 3 power station emit?
Maritsa 3 power station has measured emissions of about 73,524 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).