The Irsching power plant has a history full of important events. The power plant was constructed by the Isar-Amperwerke in the sixties and initially used heavy oil as it fuel source. The most important reason for selecting the site was the development of the refinery center in Ingolstadt. Block 1 with an output of 151 megawatts was followed in 1972 and 1974 by blocks 2 and 3 which had outputs of 312 and 415 megawatts respectively.

During the seventies the plant was upgraded for using a new source of fuel: After that, the plant could burn natural gas with the low-emission burner, in addition to the heavy heating oil it already was using. At the end of the eighties two heavy oil tanks were converted into double-walled tanks for the storage of light fuel oil. Since the beginning of the nineties the power plant blocks operate exclusively on the environmentally friendly fuels of natural gas and light heating oil.

Unfortunately, there were also some unpleasant events that occurred in Irsching and they are still remembered by many people in the region. On New Years Eve in 1987 part of the block 2 turbine shaft separated while the system was accelerating and then broke away. A steel part of the turbine shaft weighing around 1,000 kg flew through the machine room roof and landed in a field almost one kilometer away. It was a miracle that no one was hurt. A material defect in the shaft was later determined to be the cause. Now all turbine parts undergo rigorous inspections and are checked meticulously for material defects.

1992 was a bad year for Irsching. A deflagration occurred in a furnace during a cold start in block 3. The boiler house was severely damaged.
The block 3 boiler house went through extensive repairs which can still be seen today by some changes made to the building. During the nineties the Bayernwerk took over the plant from the Isar-Amperwerke. At this time the plant was only rarely operated and was at risk of closing completely. This did not change until the end of the nineties. Since that time Irsching has been used regularly to cover peak loads.

In 2000 the power plant was taken over by E.ON Kraftwerke GmbH. In 2006 block 1 was closed down, block 2 has been on cold stand-by since 1995. Electricity is being produced in block 3 for covering peak loads. In 2006 construction was started on two new power plants on the Irsching premises.