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KUNDAH I-V

Hydro power plant in Tamil Nadu, India. Approximate location 11.2861, 76.6511.

HydroTamil NaduIndiaconventional storage

KUNDAH I-V is a 555 MW hydro power station in Tamil Nadu, India. It is operated by Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corp Ltd [100%]. Based on reported annual generation of 1,601 GWh, it can supply roughly 457k homes. It ranks #512 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1966, it is around 60 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).

555Legacy source-record capacity
1,601GWh reported / yr
457,400homes powered
1966commissioned (~60 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id IND0000219.

Data status

Known data

FacilityKUNDAH I-V WRI
CountryIndia · Tamil Nadu WRI
Coordinates11.2861, 76.6511 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity555 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerTamil Nadu Power Distribution Corp Ltd [100%] WRI
Commissioned1966 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI
GWh reported / yr1,601 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#512 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#21 of 233 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers6.94× · 80 MW median · 233 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent457,400 calculated from reported generation
Climate21.1°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 39/100 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.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 60 MW for Kundah-I 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: C_REVIEW_MANUAL - recommended action: manual_review_only - confidence: unknown. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

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 555 MW, KUNDAH I-V is well above the median hydro plant in India (80 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.

Reported generation trend

2014: 1,543 GWh20142015: 1,366 GWh20152016: 812 GWh20162017: 802 GWh20172018: 1,601 GWh20182k GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corp Ltd [100%].

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 11.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

21.1°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,146cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,042 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 19 °CJF: 21 °CFM: 23 °CMA: 24 °CAM: 23 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 21 °CON: 20 °CND: 19 °CD24 °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)
39/100environmental-severity index
4.6°Cseasonal temperature swing
98 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 #21 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 11.2861, 76.6511 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is KUNDAH I-V?

KUNDAH I-V is a 555 MW source-record hydro power plant in Tamil Nadu, India, commissioned in 1966.

How much electricity does KUNDAH I-V generate?

KUNDAH I-V generates about 1,601 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can KUNDAH I-V power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 457,400 homes.

Who operates KUNDAH I-V?

KUNDAH I-V is operated by Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corp Ltd [100%].

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