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Obernburg

Gas power plant in Bavaria, Germany. Approximate location 49.8293, 9.1482.

GasBavariaGermanyCCGT · HRSGCO₂ measured

Obernburg is a 100 MW gas power station in Bavaria, Germany. It is operated by Kraftwerk Obernburg GmbH. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 113k homes (estimated). It ranks #250 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1995, it is around 31 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 232,189 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 54k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 16.5% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

100Legacy source-record capacity
1HRSG unit(s)
112,628homes powered (est.)
232,189t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
1995commissioned (~31 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1005988.

Data status

Known data

FacilityObernburg WRI
CountryGermany · Bavaria WRI
Coordinates49.8293, 9.1482 WRI
FuelGas WRI
MW installed capacity100 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerKraftwerk Obernburg GmbH WRI
Commissioned1995 WRI
TechnologyCCGT · HRSG WRI
CO₂ emissions232,189 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#250 of 1442 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#87 of 241 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.89× · 53 MW median · 241 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent112,628 calculated
Climate8.8°C · HDD 3,331 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 25/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 116 MW for Akzo Obernburg power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.

capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 100 MW, Obernburg is well above the median gas plant in Germany (53 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

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

232,189 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

54kpassenger cars driven for a year
30khomes' yearly energy use
3.9 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; emissions per EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023) (measured for US EPA/EU ETS, modelled for Climate TRACE).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Germany

Gersteinwerk: 2,004 MW2kGersteinwe…Emsland: 1,837 MW2kEmslandGemeinschaftskraftwerk Irsching: 1,391 MW1kGemeinscha…Knapsack Natural Gas I: 1,252 MW1kKnapsack N…Gundelfingen Reserve power station: 1,200 MW1kGundelfing…RWE Burghausen power station: 950 MW950RWE Burgha…Bexbach-C power station: 900 MW900Bexbach-C …Leipheim power station: 869 MW869Leipheim p…

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

Owner

Operated by Kraftwerk Obernburg GmbH.

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 49.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.8°Cannual mean temp
3,331heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
278 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 5 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 9 °CON: 4 °CND: 2 °CD18 °C

Heating degree-days here run 36% 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: 72/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
25/100environmental-severity index
17.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
340 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

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 #87 largest gas power plant of 241 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 241 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 37,245 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 49.8293, 9.1482 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Obernburg?

Obernburg is a 100 MW source-record gas power plant in Bavaria, Germany, commissioned in 1995.

How many homes can Obernburg power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 112,628 homes (estimated).

Who operates Obernburg?

Obernburg is operated by Kraftwerk Obernburg GmbH.

How much CO₂ does Obernburg emit?

Obernburg has measured emissions of about 232,189 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

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