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KALINADI

Hydro power plant in Karnataka, India. Approximate location 15.2761, 74.5268.

HydroKarnatakaIndia

KALINADI is a 855 MW hydro power station in Karnataka, India. Based on reported annual generation of 2,764 GWh, it can supply roughly 790k homes. It ranks #423 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1981, it is around 45 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 8.6% of India's electricity; the national grid averages 670 gCO₂/kWh (26.7% low-carbon) (2025).

855Source-backed capacity
2,764GWh reported / yr
789,714homes powered
1981commissioned (~45 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id IND0000174.

Data status

Known data

FacilityKALINADI WRI
CountryIndia · Karnataka WRI
Coordinates15.2761, 74.5268 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity855 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1981 WRI
GWh reported / yr2,764 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#423 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#13 of 233 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers10.69× · 80 MW median · 233 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent789,714 calculated from reported generation
Climate23.9°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 40/100 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 100 MW for Kalinadi Supa hydroelectric plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: D_REJECT_KEEP_MASTER - recommended action: keep_master - confidence: rejected_candidate. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000601901); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 855 MW, KALINADI is well above the median hydro plant in India (80 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.

Reported generation trend

2014: 3,239 GWh20142015: 1,939 GWh20152016: 1,338 GWh20162017: 1,530 GWh20172018: 2,764 GWh20183k GWh

Annual generation (GWh), 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) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 15.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

23.9°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,170cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
536 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 23 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 27 °CAM: 27 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 23 °CJA: 23 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 24 °CON: 23 °CND: 22 °CD27 °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)
40/100environmental-severity index
5.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
69 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 #13 largest hydro power plant of 233 in India by capacity.

India has 233 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 45,527 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 15.2761, 74.5268 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is KALINADI?

KALINADI is a 855 MW source-record hydro power plant in Karnataka, India, commissioned in 1981.

How much electricity does KALINADI generate?

KALINADI generates about 2,764 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can KALINADI power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 789,714 homes.

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