Power plants in the United Kingdom
A directory of 2,860 power plants in United Kingdom with a combined installed capacity of 126,013 MW, mapped and ranked from open data — by fuel, capacity and emissions.
Power mix by fuel (United Kingdom)
Plant counts by primary fuel, WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
United Kingdom electricity grid — mix & carbon intensity (2025)
Source: Ember / Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0).
The state of United Kingdom’s power emissions
Across the 14 United Kingdom power plants carrying an asset-level CO₂ figure in this open dataset, total emissions are about 1.1 Mt CO₂/yr. The single largest emitter, Steven's Croft (cogeneration), accounts for about 35% of that 14-plant reported subset (not of the whole country). The top three owners — E.ON (formerly Powergen), Viridor, Dundee Energy Recycling — control roughly 87% of that 14-plant reported subset. Most of these plants sit in a temperate Köppen climate zone.
Largest emitters (Mt CO₂/yr)
Emissions by owner (Mt CO₂/yr)
CO₂ — measured (US EPA / EU ETS) or modelled (Climate TRACE), per plant · backbone WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0) · climate: Köppen-Geiger (WorldClim). CC BY 4.0.
Largest plants in United Kingdom
| # | Plant | Fuel | MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Longannet power station | Coal | 4,856 |
| 2 | Kingsnorth power station | Coal | 3,772 |
| 3 | Cockenzie power station | Coal | 2,456 |
| 4 | Grangemouth (GBTron) power station | Gas | 2,400 |
| 5 | Pembroke | Gas | 2,305 |
| 6 | Didcot power station | Coal | 2,172 |
| 7 | Fiddler's Ferry power station | Coal | 2,132 |
| 8 | West Burton | Coal | 2,012 |
| 9 | Cottam | Coal | 2,000 |
| 10 | Ratcliffe | Coal | 2,000 |
| 11 | King's Lynn-B power station | Gas | 1,999 |
| 12 | Drax | Biomass | 1,980 |
| 13 | Staythorpe C | Gas | 1,772 |
| 14 | Dinorwig | Hydro | 1,728 |
| 15 | Tees Combined-Cycle Power Plant | Gas | 1,700 |
| 16 | Hunterston Power Station | Coal | 1,600 |
| 17 | Aberthaw B | Coal | 1,586 |
| 18 | Thorpe Marsh power station | Gas | 1,576 |
| 19 | Didcot B | Gas | 1,440 |
| 20 | Grain CHP | Cogeneration | 1,415 |
Browse by fuel
Power plants in United Kingdom by region
Cite this
Inzonex PowerAtlas (2026). Asset-level power-plant CO2 emissions — United Kingdom. Derived from WRI GPPD, Climate TRACE, US EPA GHGRP and EU ETS (CC BY 4.0). https://inzonex.co.uk/poweratlas/united-kingdom/
Frequently asked questions
How many power plants are in United Kingdom?
There are 2,732 current or operating power-plant records in United Kingdom in this open dataset, with about 126,013 MW of capacity. Historical and pipeline records remain available separately.
What is the largest power plant in United Kingdom?
Longannet power station is the largest at about 4,856 MW (coal).
What fuels generate electricity in United Kingdom?
The most common plant type in this dataset is solar (1165 plants), across 12 fuel types in total.
How clean is United Kingdom's electricity grid?
United Kingdom's grid carbon intensity is about 217 gCO₂/kWh, with 64.4% low-carbon generation (<a href="https://ember-energy.org/" rel="nofollow">Ember</a> / <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/energy" rel="nofollow">Our World in Data</a> (CC BY 4.0)).