Shanghai Gaoqiao power station is a 150 MW coal power station in Shanghai Shi, China. It is operated by Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 188k homes (estimated). It ranks #2306 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1979, it is around 47 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 54.3% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1075716.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
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 100 MW for Shanghai Gaoqiao 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 150 MW, Shanghai Gaoqiao power station is below the median coal plant in China (700 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 China coal capacity
- less than 0.1% of 1,882,493 MW across 1,907 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 20 of 1,446 dated coal plants in China 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 China
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co.
Local climate & thermal context
This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 31.3°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 34% below 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: 36/100 — 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
This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), 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 #1544 largest coal power plant of 1907 in China by capacity.
China has 1907 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 1,882,493 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Waigaoqiao power station · Coal · 5,080 MW · Shanghai Shi
- Zhabei Gas · Gas · 454 MW · Shanghai Shi
- Baoshan Works power station · Coal · 1,700 MW · Shanghai Shi
- Shanghai Yuqiao power station · Biomass · 17 MW · Shanghai Shi
- Shanghai Jiangqiao power station · Biomass · 24 MW · Shanghai Shi
- Qingcaosha Wind · Wind · 48 MW · Shanghai Shi
Location
Coordinates 31.3253, 121.5665 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Shanghai Gaoqiao power station?
Shanghai Gaoqiao power station is a 150 MW coal power plant in Shanghai Shi, China, commissioned in 1979.
Who operates Shanghai Gaoqiao power station?
Shanghai Gaoqiao power station is operated by Gaoqiao Petrochemical Co.