Ybbs-Persenbeug — Austria

Ybbs-Persenbeug is a 237 MW hydro power station in Lower Austria, Austria. It is operated by Verbund. Based on reported annual generation of 1,381 GWh, it can supply roughly 394k homes. It ranks #23 of 131 Austria power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1960, it is around 66 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 51.8% of Austria's electricity; the national grid averages 117 gCO₂/kWh (83.6% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1018682.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000600144; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 237 MW, Ybbs-Persenbeug is well above the median hydro plant in Austria (30 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. Hydropower converts the energy of falling or flowing water into electricity; output depends on rainfall and reservoir level, and large dams also provide grid balancing and storage.

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

Key facts

Load factor

66%, from 1,381 GWh of reported generation; the median for 18 hydro plants in Austria that report generation is 44%

Generation trend

1,214 GWh in 2015 and 1,381 GWh in 2017 (+14%)

Highest and lowest year

2017: 1,381 GWh; 2015: 1,214 GWh

Share of Austria hydro capacity

2.6% of 9,237 MW across 96 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

23 of 94 dated hydro plants in Austria are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

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

Owner

Operated by Verbund. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. 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.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 40% 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: 75/100 — 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 humidity / wetness 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 #14 largest hydro power plant of 96 in Austria by capacity.

Austria has 96 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 9,237 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Melk · Hydro · 187 MW · Lower Austria
• Wallsee-Mitterkirchen · Hydro · 210 MW · Lower Austria
• Schonau · Hydro · 30 MW · Upper Austria
• Enns Power Station · Coal · 800 MW · Upper Austria
• Staning · Hydro · 43 MW · Lower Austria
• Rosenau · Hydro · 34 MW · Upper Austria

Location

Coordinates 48.1892, 15.0682 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions