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Changning Kawan Hydroelectric

Hydro power plant in Yunnan, China. Approximate location 25.316, 99.133.

HydroYunnanChina

Changning Kawan Hydroelectric is a 18 MW hydro power plant in Yunnan, China. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 18k homes (estimated). It ranks #5525 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 13.2% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).

18Legacy source-record capacity
18,020homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1071696.

Data status

Known data

FacilityChangning Kawan Hydroelectric WRI
CountryChina · Yunnan WRI
Coordinates25.316, 99.133 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity18 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#5525 of 6685 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#566 of 947 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.75× · 24 MW median · 947 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent18,020 calculated
Climate15.0°C · HDD 1,272 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 28/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot 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 18 MW, Changning Kawan Hydroelectric is below the median hydro plant in China (24 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 China

Three Gorges Dam: 22,500 MW22kThree Gorg…Xiluodu: 13,860 MW14kXiluoduBaihetan Dam: 13,050 MW13kBaihetan D…Xiangjiaba: 7,750 MW8kXiangjiabaNuozhadu: 5,850 MW6kNuozhaduLongtan: 4,900 MW5kLongtanJinping II: 4,800 MW5kJinping IIAhai: 4,750 MW5kAhai

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 subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 25.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

15.0°Cannual mean temp
1,272heating degree-days (base 18°C)
199cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
2,018 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 8 °CJF: 10 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 16 °CAM: 18 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 19 °CSO: 16 °CON: 12 °CND: 9 °CD20 °C

Heating degree-days here run 48% 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: 30/100 — 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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
28/100environmental-severity index
11.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
864 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 #566 largest hydro power plant of 947 in China by capacity.

China has 947 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 262,337 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 25.316, 99.133 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Changning Kawan Hydroelectric?

Changning Kawan Hydroelectric is a 18 MW source-record hydro power plant in Yunnan, China.

How many homes can Changning Kawan Hydroelectric power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 18,020 homes (estimated).

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