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Pyeongtaek

Oil power plant in Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. Approximate location 37.0041, 126.7946.

OilChungcheongnam-doSouth KoreaCCGT · HRSGCO₂ modelled

Pyeongtaek is a 1,400 MW oil power station in Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. It is operated by Korea Western Power. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.1 million homes (estimated). It ranks #34 of 216 South Korea power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1980, it is around 46 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 6,221,600 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 1.5 million cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 1.0% of South Korea's electricity; the national grid averages 417 gCO₂/kWh (40.0% low-carbon) (2025).

1,400Source-backed capacity
1HRSG unit(s)
1,051,200homes powered (est.)
6,221,600t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1980commissioned (~46 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000197.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPyeongtaek WRI
CountrySouth Korea · Chungcheongnam-do WRI
Coordinates37.0041, 126.7946 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity1,400 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerKorea Western Power WRI
Commissioned1980 WRI
TechnologyCCGT · HRSG WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions6,221,600 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#34 of 216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#2 of 5 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers6.14× · 228 MW median · 5 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,051,200 calculated
Climate11.6°C · HDD 2,890 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 38/100 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 2,268 MW for Pyeongtaek 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/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000401389); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,400 MW, Pyeongtaek is well above the median oil plant in South Korea (228 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

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

~6,221,600 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1.5 millionpassenger cars driven for a year
811khomes' yearly energy use
104 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest oil plants in South Korea

Ulsan: 3,000 MW3kUlsanPyeongtaek: 1,400 MW1kPyeongtaekJeju: 228 MW228JejuCheongju CHP plant: 58 MW58Cheongju C…Hyundai Ulsan Factory power plant: 22 MW22Hyundai Ul…

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

Owner

Operated by Korea Western Power. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a humid subtropical (dry winter) climate (Köppen Cwa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 37.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

11.6°Cannual mean temp
2,890heating degree-days (base 18°C)
597cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
31 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -3 °CJF: -1 °CFM: 4 °CMA: 11 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 14 °CON: 6 °CND: 0 °CD25 °C

Heating degree-days here run 18% 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: 59/100 — 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

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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
38/100environmental-severity index
28.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
56 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 #2 largest oil power plant of 5 in South Korea by capacity.

South Korea has 5 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 4,708 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 37.0041, 126.7946 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Pyeongtaek?

Pyeongtaek is a 1,400 MW source-record oil power plant in Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea, commissioned in 1980.

How many homes can Pyeongtaek power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,051,200 homes (estimated).

Who operates Pyeongtaek?

Pyeongtaek is operated by Korea Western Power.

How much CO₂ does Pyeongtaek emit?

Pyeongtaek has modelled emissions of about 6,221,600 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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