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Wolfsburg West power station

Gas power plant in Lower Saxony, Germany. Approximate location 52.441544, 10.765079.

GasLower SaxonyGermanyCCGT · HRSGCO₂ measured

Wolfsburg West power station is a 288 MW gas power station in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is operated by VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 324k homes (estimated). It ranks #138 of 1,442 Germany power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2022, it is around 4 years old — recently built. Its annual emissions of 985,694 t CO₂/yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)) are equivalent to about 230k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 16.5% of Germany's electricity; the national grid averages 330 gCO₂/kWh (59.1% low-carbon) (2025).

288MW installed capacity
2HRSG unit(s)
324,370homes powered (est.)
985,694t CO₂ / yr (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023))
2022commissioned (~4 yrs)

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

Data status

Known data

FacilityWolfsburg West power station GEM-GOGPT
CountryGermany · Lower Saxony GEM-GOGPT
Coordinates52.441544, 10.765079 GEM-GOGPT
FuelGas GEM-GOGPT
MW installed capacity288 MW GEM GOGPT; source record
OwnerVW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%] GEM-GOGPT
Commissioned2022 GEM-GOGPT
TechnologyCCGT · HRSG GEM-GOGPT
CO₂ emissions985,694 t CO₂·a⁻¹ measured · EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#138 / 1442 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#35 / 241 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers5.44× · 52.9 MW · n=241 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent324,370 calculated
Climate8.8°C · HDD 3,337 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 24/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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: GEM GOGPT; fuel: GEM GOGPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 288 MW, Wolfsburg West power station is well above the median gas plant in Germany (52.9 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.

985,694 t CO₂/yr — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

230kpassenger cars driven for a year
129khomes' yearly energy use
16 milliontree 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 gas plants in Germany

Gersteinwerk: 2,004 MW2kGersteinwe…Emsland: 1,837 MW2kEmslandGemeinschaftskraftwerk Irsching: 1,391 MW1kGemeinscha…Knapsack Natural Gas I: 1,252 MW1kKnapsack N…Gundelfingen Reserve power station: 1,200 MW1kGundelfing…RWE Burghausen power station: 950 MW950RWE Burgha…Bexbach-C power station: 900 MW900Bexbach-C …Leipheim power station: 869 MW869Leipheim p…

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

Owner

Operated by VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

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 52.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.8°Cannual mean temp
3,337heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
81 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 1 °CFM: 4 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 15 °CJJ: 17 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 9 °CON: 5 °CND: 2 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 36% 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: 72/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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)
24/100environmental-severity index
16.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
223 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 #35 largest gas power plant of 241 in Germany by capacity.

Germany has 241 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 37,245 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 52.441544, 10.765079 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Wolfsburg West power station?

Wolfsburg West power station is a 288 MW gas power plant in Lower Saxony, Germany, commissioned in 2022.

How many homes can Wolfsburg West power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 324,370 homes (estimated).

Who operates Wolfsburg West power station?

Wolfsburg West power station is operated by VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%].

How much CO₂ does Wolfsburg West power station emit?

Wolfsburg West power station has measured emissions of about 985,694 tonnes of CO₂ per year (EU ETS verified (EUTL 2023)).

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