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Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5

Hydro power plant in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Approximate location 22.495, 92.216.

HydroChittagongBangladeshconventional storage

Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5 is a 230 MW hydro power station in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is operated by Bangladesh Power Development Board. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 230k homes (estimated). It ranks #63 of 129 Bangladesh power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1962, it is around 64 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 0.6% of Bangladesh's electricity; the national grid averages 696 gCO₂/kWh (2.1% low-carbon) (2025).

230Source-backed capacity
230,262homes powered (est.)
1962commissioned (~64 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029228.

Data status

Known data

FacilityKaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5 WRI
CountryBangladesh · Chittagong WRI
Coordinates22.495, 92.216 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity230 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerBangladesh Power Development Board WRI
Commissioned1962 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#63 of 129 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1 of 1 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent230,262 calculated
Climate25.3°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 42/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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/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 L100000600148); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

Technically it is described as conventional storage. 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.

Owner

Operated by Bangladesh Power Development Board.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 22.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.3°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,653cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
99 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 19 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 28 °CAM: 28 °CMJ: 28 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 28 °CSO: 27 °CON: 24 °CND: 20 °CD28 °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)
42/100environmental-severity index
9.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
78 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

Bangladesh has 1 hydro power plant in this dataset, together about 230 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 22.495, 92.216 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5?

Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5 is a 230 MW source-record hydro power plant in Chittagong, Bangladesh, commissioned in 1962.

How many homes can Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5 power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 230,262 homes (estimated).

Who operates Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5?

Kaptai Hydro:Unit-1 2 3 4 5 is operated by Bangladesh Power Development Board.

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