Pavlodar-3 power station — Kazakhstan

Pavlodar-3 power station is a 440 MW coal power station in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. It is operated by JSC Central-Asian Elec Power. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 551k homes (estimated). It ranks #34 of 80 Kazakhstan power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1975, it is around 51 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, coal supplies about 54.3% of Kazakhstan's electricity; the national grid averages 805 gCO₂/kWh (14.9% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1075835.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 565 MW for Pavlodar-3 power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000102991; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 440 MW, Pavlodar-3 power station is around the median coal plant in Kazakhstan (435 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.

Key facts

Share of Kazakhstan coal capacity

2.1% of 20,941 MW across 32 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

10 of 27 dated coal plants in Kazakhstan 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 Kazakhstan

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

Owner

Operated by JSC Central-Asian Elec Power.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 52.4°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 131% 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: 97/100 — this site sits in the top 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 thermal cycling 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 #15 largest coal power plant of 32 in Kazakhstan by capacity.

Kazakhstan has 32 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 20,941 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• MAEK-Kazatoprom TPP-2 · Coal · 1,255 MW · Pavlodar
• Pavlodar TPP-1 · Coal · 855 MW · Pavlodar
• Pavlodar-2 power station · Coal · 100 MW · Pavlodar
• Pavlodar-1 power station · Coal · 350 MW · Pavlodar
• Aksu power station · Coal · 2,210 MW · Pavlodar

Location

Coordinates 52.3666, 76.9345 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions