Kinlochleven Hydro Power Station — United Kingdom

Kinlochleven Hydro Power Station is a 19.5 MW hydro power plant in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is operated by Hydro Plan (on behalf of Alcan). Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 20k homes (estimated). It ranks #584 of 2,860 United Kingdom power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1909, it is around 117 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 1.9% of United Kingdom's electricity; the national grid averages 217 gCO₂/kWh (64.4% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GBR0000391.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 30 MW for Kinlochleven hydroelectric plant, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100001063130; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 19.5 MW, Kinlochleven Hydro Power Station is well above the median hydro plant in United Kingdom (3 MW). 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.

Key facts

Share of United Kingdom hydro capacity

0.3% of 5,950 MW across 118 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

1 of 20 dated hydro plants in United Kingdom is older

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

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in United Kingdom

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Hydro Plan (on behalf of Alcan).

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 56.7°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 75% 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: 88/100 — this site sits in the top 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 #27 largest hydro power plant of 118 in United Kingdom by capacity.

United Kingdom has 118 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 5,950 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Loch Eilde Mor Hydro (Kinlochleven extension) · Hydro · 2 MW · Scotland
• Abhainn Gleann Nam Fiadh · Hydro · 2 MW · Scotland
• Nevis Range · Hydro · 1.1 MW · Scotland
• Derrydarroch · Hydro · 1.9 MW · Scotland
• Mucomir · Hydro · 1.8 MW · Scotland
• Cia Aig · Hydro · 3 MW · Scotland

Location

Coordinates 56.7146, -4.9634 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions