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Weiher

Coal power plant in Saarland, Germany. Approximate location 49.3341, 7.0314.

CoalSaarlandGermany

Weiher is a 656 MW coal power station in Saarland, Germany. It is operated by STEAG Power Saar GmbH. Based on reported annual generation of 412 GWh, it can supply roughly 117,571 homes. It ranks #50 of 1,369 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1976, it is around 50 years old — long-established. In context, coal supplies about 20.6% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

656MW installed capacity
412GWh reported / yr
117,571homes powered
1976commissioned (~50 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1006133.

~411,500 t CO₂/yr (estimated) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

95,921passenger cars driven for a year
53,665homes' yearly energy use
6,858,333tree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Estimated, not measured: from reported annual generation × a typical coal emission factor (~1000 g CO₂/kWh, IPCC AR5 / US EIA). Actual emissions depend on plant efficiency and running hours.Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies.

Reported generation trend

2016: 1,396 GWh20162017: 412 GWh20171k GWh

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

Owner

Operated by STEAG Power Saar GmbH. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 49.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

9.3°Cannual mean temp
3,168heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
289 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 1 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 5 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 9 °CON: 5 °CND: 2 °CD18 °C

Heating degree-days here run 29% 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: 67/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #31 largest coal power plant of 98 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 98 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 49,623 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 49.3341, 7.0314 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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