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Spittelau power station

Biomass power plant in Vienna, Austria. Approximate location 48.2347, 16.3593.

BiomassViennaAustriaCO₂ measured

Spittelau power station is a 13 MW biomass power plant in Vienna, Austria. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 18k homes (estimated). It ranks #109 of 131 Austria power plants by installed capacity. Its annual emissions of 51,845 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 12k cars driven for a year. In context, biomass supplies about 6.4% of Austria's electricity; the national grid averages 117 gCO₂/kWh (83.6% low-carbon) (2025).

13Legacy source-record capacity
17,895homes powered (est.)
51,845t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-404.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySpittelau power station Climate TRACE
CountryAustria · Vienna Climate TRACE
Coordinates48.2347, 16.3593 Climate TRACE
FuelBiomass Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity13 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
CO₂ emissions51,845 t CO₂/yr measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#109 of 131 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#5 of 7 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.93× · 14 MW median · 7 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent17,895 calculated
Climate10.1°C · HDD 3,005 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 27/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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: Climate TRACE source-record capacity (modelled/legacy); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 13 MW, Spittelau power station is around the median biomass plant in Austria (14 MW). Biomass plants burn organic material such as wood, residues or waste-derived fuel to raise steam; they are dispatchable and counted as low-carbon where the feedstock is sustainably sourced.

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

51,845 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

12kpassenger cars driven for a year
6.8khomes' yearly energy use
864ktree 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).

Capacity vs largest biomass plants in Austria

Bruk Mill power station: 50 MW50Bruk Mill …Wels Waste power station: 31 MW31Wels Waste…Zistersdorf power station: 15 MW15Zistersdor…Pfaffenau power station: 14 MW14Pfaffenau …Spittelau power station: 13 MW13Spittelau …Egger Unterradlberg Dampfanlage power station: 10 MW10Egger Unte…Fundermax power station: 10 MW10Fundermax …

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

Local climate & thermal context

This biomass plant burns organic material (wood, residues) to raise steam for a turbine. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 48.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

10.1°Cannual mean temp
3,005heating degree-days (base 18°C)
128cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
172 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 6 °CMA: 10 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 10 °CON: 4 °CND: 1 °CD20 °C

Heating degree-days here run 22% 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: 63/100 — 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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
27/100environmental-severity index
20.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
365 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 #5 largest biomass power plant of 7 in Austria by capacity.

Austria has 7 biomass power plants in this dataset, together about 143 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 48.2347, 16.3593 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Spittelau power station?

Spittelau power station is a 13 MW source-record biomass power plant in Vienna, Austria.

How many homes can Spittelau power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 17,895 homes (estimated).

How much CO₂ does Spittelau power station emit?

Spittelau power station has measured emissions of about 51,845 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

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