Home / Africa / Uganda / Ishasha River

Ishasha River

Hydro power plant in Western Region, Uganda. Approximate location -0.8815, 29.6707.

HydroWestern RegionUganda

Ishasha River is a 10 MW hydro power plant in Western Region, Uganda. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 10k homes (estimated). It ranks #14 of 16 Uganda power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 86.1% of Uganda's electricity; the national grid averages 59 gCO₂/kWh (97.1% low-carbon) (2024).

10Legacy source-record capacity
10,011homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023204.

Data status

Known data

FacilityIshasha River WRI
CountryUganda · Western Region WRI
Coordinates-0.8815, 29.6707 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity10 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#14 of 16 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#6 of 6 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.06× · 180 MW median · 6 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent10,011 calculated
Climate18.8°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 29/100 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 10 MW, Ishasha River is below the median hydro plant in Uganda (180 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 Uganda

Bujagali Falls: 250 MW250Bujagali F…Kiira: 200 MW200KiiraNarubale: 180 MW180NarubaleBugoye: 11 MW11BugoyeMubuku-3: 10 MW10Mubuku-3Ishasha River: 10 MW10Ishasha Ri…

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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 0.9°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

18.8°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
295cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,600 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 19 °CJF: 19 °CFM: 19 °CMA: 19 °CAM: 19 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 19 °CAS: 19 °CSO: 19 °CON: 19 °CND: 19 °CD19 °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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
29/100environmental-severity index
0.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
254 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 #6 largest hydro power plant of 6 in Uganda by capacity.

Uganda has 6 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 662 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -0.8815, 29.6707 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Ishasha River?

Ishasha River is a 10 MW source-record hydro power plant in Western Region, Uganda.

How many homes can Ishasha River power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 10,011 homes (estimated).

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