HPP Portile de Fier I — Romania

HPP Portile de Fier I is a 1,161 MW hydro power station in Mehedinti, Romania. It is operated by SC Hidroelectrica; Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS). Based on reported annual generation of 4,707 GWh, it can supply roughly 1.3 million homes. It ranks #4 of 97 Romania power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1972, it is around 54 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 24.3% of Romania's electricity; the national grid averages 251 gCO₂/kWh (67.5% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1019095.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,161 MW, HPP Portile de Fier I is well above the median hydro plant in Romania (219 MW). Technically it is described as run-of-river. 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

Load factor

46%, from 4,707 GWh of reported generation

Generation trend

4,780 GWh in 2015 and 4,707 GWh in 2017 (−2%)

Highest and lowest year

2016: 5,435 GWh; 2017: 4,707 GWh

Share of Romania hydro capacity

34.9% of 3,328 MW across 10 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

2 of 9 dated hydro plants in Romania are older

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

Reported generation trend

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by SC Hidroelectrica; Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS).

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 44.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 8% above 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: 53/100 — this site sits in the mid 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

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness 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 10 in Romania by capacity.

Romania has 10 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 3,328 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• HE DJERDAP I · Hydro · 1,086 MW · Mehedinti
• Romag Termo power station · Gas · 150 MW · Mehedinti
• TPP Drobeta · Coal · 313 MW · Mehedinti
• HPP Portile de Fier II · Hydro · 245 MW · Mehedinti
• HE DJERDAP II · Hydro · 270 MW · Mehedinti
• Rovinari power station · Coal · 990 MW · Gorj

Location

Coordinates 44.6733, 22.532 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions