Mimizan power station — France

Mimizan power station is a 29.7 MW biomass power plant in Aquitaine, France. It is operated by Gascogne Papier SAS. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 41k homes (estimated). It ranks #254 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1990, it is around 36 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 37,205 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 8.7k cars driven for a year. In context, biomass supplies about 1.8% of France's electricity; the national grid averages 41 gCO₂/kWh (94.9% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-181.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: ODRE official registry; fuel: Climate TRACE

In context: how this plant compares

At 29.7 MW, Mimizan power station is well above the median biomass plant in France (2.9 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.

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

37,205 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).

Key facts

Share of France biomass capacity

2.5% of 1,184 MW across 158 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 54 dated biomass plants in France is older

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

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in France

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

Owner

Operated by Gascogne Papier SAS.

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 44.2°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 22% 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: 42/100 — this site sits in the mid 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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), 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 #9 largest biomass power plant of 158 in France by capacity.

France has 158 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 1,184 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Saint-Julien-en-Born · Solar · 2.1 MW · Aquitaine
• Pontenx-les-Forges · Solar · 1.5 MW · Aquitaine
• Pontenx-les-Forges · Biomass · 2.5 MW · Aquitaine
• Mézos · Solar · 4.4 MW · Aquitaine
• Lucet · Solar · 12 MW · Aquitaine
• Lüe · Solar · 38.58 MW · Aquitaine

Location

Coordinates 44.2065, -1.2492 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions