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Balambano

Hydro power plant in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Approximate location -2.5213, 121.357.

HydroSouth SulawesiIndonesiaconventional storage

Balambano is a 130 MW hydro power station in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is operated by PT. Inco. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 130k homes (estimated). It ranks #225 of 401 Indonesia power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1999, it is around 27 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 7.3% of Indonesia's electricity; the national grid averages 680 gCO₂/kWh (18.1% low-carbon) (2024).

130Legacy source-record capacity
130,148homes powered (est.)
1999commissioned (~27 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000739.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBalambano WRI
CountryIndonesia · South Sulawesi WRI
Coordinates-2.5213, 121.357 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity130 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPT. Inco WRI
Commissioned1999 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#225 of 401 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#11 of 41 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers4.33× · 30 MW median · 41 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent130,148 calculated
Climate24.9°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 41/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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 130 MW, Balambano is well above the median hydro plant in Indonesia (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.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Indonesia

CirataI & II: 1,008 MW1kCirataI & …Saguling: 701 MW701SagulingTangga (asahan II): 317 MW317Tangga (as…Sigura gura (asahan II): 286 MW286Sigura gur…Musi: 216 MW216MusiJatiluhur: 187 MW187JatiluhurPB. Sudirman/Mrica: 181 MW181PB. Sudirm…Asahan I: 180 MW180Asahan I

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

Owner

Operated by PT. Inco.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 2.5°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

24.9°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,514cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
459 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 25 °CFM: 25 °CMA: 25 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 26 °CON: 25 °CND: 25 °CD26 °C

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

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)
41/100environmental-severity index
1.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
53 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 #11 largest hydro power plant of 41 in Indonesia by capacity.

Indonesia has 41 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 4,561 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -2.5213, 121.357 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Balambano?

Balambano is a 130 MW source-record hydro power plant in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, commissioned in 1999.

How many homes can Balambano power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 130,148 homes (estimated).

Who operates Balambano?

Balambano is operated by PT. Inco.

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