Home / Europe / Finland / Salmisaari B

Salmisaari B

Coal power plant in Uusimaa, Finland. Approximate location 60.1656, 24.9048.

CoalUusimaaFinlandsubcriticalCO₂ measured

Salmisaari B is a 163 MW coal power station in Uusimaa, Finland. It is operated by Helsingin Energia. Based on reported annual generation of 959 GWh, it can supply roughly 274k homes. It ranks #21 of 203 Finland power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1984, it is around 42 years old — long-established. Its annual emissions of 730,121 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 170k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 0.2% of Finland's electricity; the national grid averages 57 gCO₂/kWh (96.3% low-carbon) (2025).

163Legacy source-record capacity
959GWh reported / yr
274,114homes powered
730,121t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
1984commissioned (~42 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1002525.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySalmisaari B WRI
CountryFinland · Uusimaa WRI
Coordinates60.1656, 24.9048 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity163 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerHelsingin Energia WRI
Commissioned1984 WRI
Technologysubcritical WRI
GWh reported / yr959 GWh/yr WRI
CO₂ emissions730,121 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#21 of 203 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#9 of 13 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.71× · 230 MW median · 13 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent274,114 calculated from reported generation
Climate5.3°C · HDD 4,601 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 35/100 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.

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 163 MW, Salmisaari B is below the median coal plant in Finland (230 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.

730,121 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

170kpassenger cars driven for a year
95khomes' yearly energy use
12 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).

Reported generation trend

2015: 615 GWh20152016: 972 GWh20162017: 959 GWh2017972 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Helsingin Energia.

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 60.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

5.3°Cannual mean temp
4,601heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
2 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -4 °CJF: -5 °CFM: -2 °CMA: 3 °CAM: 9 °CMJ: 14 °CJJ: 17 °CJA: 16 °CAS: 11 °CSO: 6 °CON: 2 °CND: -2 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 87% 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: 91/100 — 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

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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with marine corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
35/100environmental-severity index
21.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
14 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 #9 largest coal power plant of 13 in Finland by capacity.

Finland has 13 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 4,217 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 60.1656, 24.9048 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Salmisaari B?

Salmisaari B is a 163 MW source-record coal power plant in Uusimaa, Finland, commissioned in 1984.

How much electricity does Salmisaari B generate?

Salmisaari B generates about 959 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Salmisaari B power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 274,114 homes.

Who operates Salmisaari B?

Salmisaari B is operated by Helsingin Energia.

How much CO₂ does Salmisaari B emit?

Salmisaari B has measured emissions of about 730,121 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.