Poplar Creek — Canada

Poplar Creek is a 360 MW gas power station in Alberta, Canada. It is operated by TransAlta. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 405k homes (estimated). It ranks #103 of 1,210 Canada power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2001, it is around 25 years old — relatively modern. In context, gas supplies about 17.8% of Canada's electricity; the national grid averages 191 gCO₂/kWh (77.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CAN0002078.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 224 MW for Poplar Creek 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

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 360 MW, Poplar Creek is well above the median gas plant in Canada (170 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG); Mitsubishi Power: M501. 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.

Key facts

Share of Canada gas capacity

1.0% of 37,176 MW across 112 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

28 of 88 dated gas plants in Canada are older

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

Capacity vs largest gas plants in Canada

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

Owner

Operated by TransAlta. All plants by this company →

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 subarctic (boreal) climate (Köppen Dfc) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 57.0°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 157% 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: 99/100 — 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

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 #31 largest gas power plant of 112 in Canada by capacity.

Canada has 112 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 37,176 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Northern Prairie · Gas · 85 MW · Alberta
• Spy Hill · Gas · 86 MW · Alberta
• MacKay River · Gas · 165 MW · Alberta
• Muskeg River · Gas · 202 MW · Alberta
• Aurora · Gas · 160 MW · Alberta
• Lewis Oil Sands Project power station · Gas · 170 MW · Alberta

Location

Coordinates 57.008, -111.4868 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions