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KOSI

Hydro power plant in Bihar, India. Approximate location 26.497, 86.9549.

HydroBiharIndia

KOSI is a 20 MW hydro power plant in Bihar, India. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 20k homes (estimated). It ranks #1531 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. 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).

20Legacy source-record capacity
20,022homes powered (est.)
1973commissioned (~53 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id IND0000212.

Data status

Known data

FacilityKOSI WRI
CountryIndia · Bihar WRI
Coordinates26.497, 86.9549 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity20 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1973 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1531 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#189 of 233 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.25× · 80 MW median · 233 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent20,022 calculated
Climate25.0°C · HDD 39 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 36/100 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.

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 20 MW, KOSI is below 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.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in India

KOYNA COMPLEX: 1,956 MW2kKOYNA COMP…NATHPA JHAKRI: 1,500 MW2kNATHPA JHA…BHAKRA: 1,380 MW1kBHAKRAS.SAROVAR RBPH: 1,200 MW1kS.SAROVAR …TEESTA-III: 1,200 MW1kTEESTA-IIIKARCHAM WANGTOO: 1,045 MW1kKARCHAM WA…SHARAVATHY: 1,035 MW1kSHARAVATHYINDIRA SAGAR: 1,000 MW1kINDIRA SAG…

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 humid subtropical (dry winter) climate (Köppen Cwa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 26.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

25.0°Cannual mean temp
39heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,615cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
72 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 17 °CJF: 19 °CFM: 24 °CMA: 28 °CAM: 30 °CMJ: 29 °CJJ: 29 °CJA: 29 °CAS: 28 °CSO: 27 °CON: 22 °CND: 18 °CD30 °C

Heating degree-days here run 98% below 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: 14/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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

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)
36/100environmental-severity index
12.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
608 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 #189 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 26.497, 86.9549 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is KOSI?

KOSI is a 20 MW source-record hydro power plant in Bihar, India, commissioned in 1973.

How many homes can KOSI power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 20,022 homes (estimated).

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