Shanxi Yuguang power station — China

Shanxi Yuguang power station is a 600 MW coal power station in Shanxi Sheng, China. It is operated by Shanxi Yuguang Power Station. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 751k homes (estimated). It ranks #1573 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 3,564,000 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 831k cars driven for a year. 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 WRI1070122.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000101514; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 600 MW, Shanxi Yuguang power station is below the median coal plant in China (700 MW). Technically it is described as supercritical. 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.

~3,564,000 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

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

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

1,021 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 Shanxi Yuguang Power Station.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a monsoon warm-summer continental climate (Köppen Dwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 39.6°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 68% 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: 86/100 — 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 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 #1187 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

• Yonghao Waste Coal power station · Coal · 100 MW · Shanxi Sheng
• Shuozhou · Solar · 50 MW · Shanxi Sheng
• Shanyin D · Solar · 20 MW · Shanxi Sheng
• Shanyin B · Solar · 50 MW · Shanxi Sheng
• Shanyin C · Solar · 30 MW · Shanxi Sheng
• Wangping power station · Coal · 440 MW · Shanxi Sheng

Location

Coordinates 39.6166, 112.7998 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions