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Além-Fazenda

Hydro power plant in Azores, Portugal. Approximate location 39.4699, -31.1415.

HydroAzoresPortugal

Além-Fazenda is a 2 MW hydro power plant in Azores, Portugal. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.5k homes (estimated). It ranks #438 of 480 Portugal power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1966, it is around 60 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 29.7% of Portugal's electricity; the national grid averages 128 gCO₂/kWh (81.0% low-carbon) (2025).

2Legacy source-record capacity
1,501homes powered (est.)
1966commissioned (~60 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1022661.

Data status

Known data

FacilityAlém-Fazenda WRI
CountryPortugal · Azores WRI
Coordinates39.4699, -31.1415 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity2 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1966 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#438 of 480 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#110 of 122 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.32× · 5 MW median · 122 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,501 calculated
Climate16.5°C · HDD 806 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 38/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

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: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 2 MW, Além-Fazenda is below the median hydro plant in Portugal (5 MW). 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.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Portugal

Frades II: 736 MW736Frades IIAlto Lindoso: 630 MW630Alto Lindo…Venda Nova: 90 MW90Venda NovaBelver: 81 MW81BelverRibeiradio: 74 MW74RibeiradioAlto Rabagão: 68 MW68Alto Rabag…Caniçada: 62 MW62CaniçadaVilar-Tabuaço: 58 MW58Vilar-Tabu…

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

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 39.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

16.5°Cannual mean temp
806heating degree-days (base 18°C)
256cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
209 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 14 °CJF: 13 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 14 °CAM: 15 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 18 °CON: 16 °CND: 15 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 67% below 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: 24/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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

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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
38/100environmental-severity index
8.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
26 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 #110 largest hydro power plant of 122 in Portugal by capacity.

Portugal has 122 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 2,718 MW of capacity.

Location

Coordinates 39.4699, -31.1415 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Além-Fazenda?

Além-Fazenda is a 2 MW source-record hydro power plant in Azores, Portugal, commissioned in 1966.

How many homes can Além-Fazenda power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,501 homes (estimated).

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