15 de Septiembre Hydroelectric Power Plant El Salvador

15 de Septiembre Hydroelectric Power Plant El Salvador is a 180.2 MW hydro power station in Usulutan, El Salvador. It is operated by Comisión Ejecutiva Hidroeléctrica del Río Lempa [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 180k homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 19 El Salvador power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1983, it is around 43 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 30.3% of El Salvador's electricity; the national grid averages 139 gCO₂/kWh (86.5% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEODB0043611.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000601566; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

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

Share of El Salvador hydro capacity

38.2% of 472 MW across 4 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

2 of 3 dated hydro plants in El Salvador are older

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

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in El Salvador

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

Owner

Operated by Comisión Ejecutiva Hidroeléctrica del Río Lempa [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 13.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion 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 #1 largest hydro power plant of 4 in El Salvador by capacity.

El Salvador has 4 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 472 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Berlin Geothermal Power Plant El Salvador · Geothermal · 109 MW · Usulutan
• Cinco de Noviembre Hydroelectric Power Plant El Salvador · Hydro · 99.4 MW · Lempira
• Cerron Grande Hydroelectric Power Plant El Salvador · Hydro · 173 MW · Chalatenango
• Antares · Solar · 76 MW · La Paz
• Providencia · Solar · 101 MW · La Paz
• Spica · Solar · 25 MW · La Paz

Location

Coordinates 13.6231, -88.5602 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions