Moneypoint power station — Ireland

Moneypoint power station is a 915 MW coal power station in Munster, Ireland. It is operated by Electricity Supply Board. Based on reported annual generation of 4,715 GWh, it can supply roughly 1.3 million homes. It ranks #2 of 76 Ireland power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 1,387,505 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 323k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 0.5% of Ireland's electricity; the national grid averages 257 gCO₂/kWh (48.1% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1002834.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000102837; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as Steam; 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.

1,387,505 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

Load factor

59%, from 4,715 GWh of reported generation

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

Owner

Operated by Electricity Supply Board.

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 52.6°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 14% 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: 57/100 — 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

Ireland has 1 coal power plant in this dataset, together about 915 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Tarbert · Oil · 488 MW · Munster
• Sealrock (Aughinish CHP) · Gas · 170 MW · Munster
• Cloghboola · Wind · 46 MW · Munster
• Knocknagoum · Wind · 44 MW · Munster
• Ballincollig Hill · Wind · 13.3 MW · Munster
• Art Data Centre power station · Gas · 120.6 MW · Ennis

Location

Coordinates 52.6074, -9.4237 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions