Sofia Iztok power station is a 407 MW gas power station in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is operated by Toplofikacia Sofia EAD [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 458k homes (estimated). It ranks #10 of 55 Bulgaria power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1964, it is around 62 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, gas supplies about 4.9% of Bulgaria's electricity; the national grid averages 276 gCO₂/kWh (71.9% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GOGPT_sofiaiztok_bulgar.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 167 MW for Sofia Iztok power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).
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: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT
At 407 MW, Sofia Iztok power station is well above the median gas plant in Bulgaria (315 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG). Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Toplofikacia Sofia EAD [100%].
This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 42.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
The #3 largest gas power plant of 8 in Bulgaria by capacity.
Bulgaria has 8 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 3,487 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 42.65152, 23.41722 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Sofia Iztok power station is a 407 MW gas power plant in Sofia, Bulgaria, commissioned in 1964.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 458,398 homes (estimated).
Sofia Iztok power station is operated by Toplofikacia Sofia EAD [100%].
