Home / Africa / Mozambique / Corumana

Corumana

Hydro power plant in Maputo, Mozambique. Approximate location -25.2185, 32.1342.

HydroMaputoMozambique

Corumana is a 166 MW hydro power station in Maputo, Mozambique. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 166k homes (estimated). It ranks #15 of 22 Mozambique power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1988, it is around 38 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 82.4% of Mozambique's electricity; the national grid averages 129 gCO₂/kWh (83.4% low-carbon) (2024).

166Legacy source-record capacity
166,189homes powered (est.)
1988commissioned (~38 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000112.

Data status

Known data

FacilityCorumana WRI
CountryMozambique · Maputo WRI
Coordinates-25.2185, 32.1342 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity166 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1988 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#15 of 22 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#2 of 3 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent166,189 calculated
Climate22.5°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 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

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 Mozambique

Cahora Bassa: 2,075 MW2kCahora Bas…Corumana: 166 MW166CorumanaChicamba: 44 MW44Chicamba

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 hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 25.2°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.5°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,630cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
84 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 26 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 25 °CMA: 23 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 23 °CON: 24 °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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
38/100environmental-severity index
7.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
85 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 #2 largest hydro power plant of 3 in Mozambique by capacity.

Mozambique has 3 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 2,285 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -25.2185, 32.1342 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Corumana?

Corumana is a 166 MW source-record hydro power plant in Maputo, Mozambique, commissioned in 1988.

How many homes can Corumana power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 166,189 homes (estimated).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.