Porąbka-Żar — Poland

Porąbka-Żar is a 552 MW hydro power station in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It is operated by Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA. Based on reported annual generation of 184 GWh, it can supply roughly 53k homes. It ranks #41 of 246 Poland power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1979, it is around 47 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 1.0% of Poland's electricity; the national grid averages 589 gCO₂/kWh (31.5% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1019048.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000603179; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 552 MW, Porąbka-Żar is well above the median hydro plant in Poland (4 MW). Technically it is described as pumped storage. Hydropower converts the energy of falling or flowing water into electricity; output depends on rainfall and reservoir level, and large dams also provide grid balancing and storage.

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

Key facts

Load factor

4%, from 184 GWh of reported generation

Generation trend

217 GWh in 2015 and 184 GWh in 2017 (−15%)

Highest and lowest year

2015: 217 GWh; 2016: 181 GWh

Share of Poland hydro capacity

25.4% of 2,169 MW across 32 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

20 of 31 dated hydro plants in Poland are older

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

Reported generation trend

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 49.8°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 57% 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: 83/100 — 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 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 #2 largest hydro power plant of 32 in Poland by capacity.

Poland has 32 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 2,169 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Porąbka · Hydro · 13 MW · Silesian Voivodeship
• Tresna · Hydro · 21 MW · Silesian Voivodeship
• EC Bielsko-Biała 1 · Gas · 77 MW · Silesian Voivodeship
• Bielsko-Biala power station · Coal · 166 MW · Silesian Voivodeship
• EC Andrychów · Coal · 12 MW · Lesser Poland Voivodeship
• EC Bielsko-Północ 2 · Oil · 55 MW · Silesian Voivodeship

Location

Coordinates 49.7809, 19.2115 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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