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Laohushao

Hydro power plant in Jilin Sheng, China. Approximate location 40.9022, 125.9744.

HydroJilin ShengChinaconventional storage

Laohushao is a 390 MW hydro power station in Jilin Sheng, China. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 390k homes (estimated). It ranks #1790 of 6,685 China power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1986, it is around 40 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 13.2% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).

390Source-backed capacity
390,445homes powered (est.)
1986commissioned (~40 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000514.

Data status

Known data

FacilityLaohushao WRI
CountryChina · Jilin Sheng WRI
Coordinates40.9022, 125.9744 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity390 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
Commissioned1986 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1790 of 6685 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#125 of 947 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers16.25× · 24 MW median · 947 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent390,445 calculated
Climate5.0°C · HDD 4,871 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 34/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot 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/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 L100000604078); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 390 MW, Laohushao is well above the median hydro plant in China (24 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.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in China

Three Gorges Dam: 22,500 MW22kThree Gorg…Xiluodu: 13,860 MW14kXiluoduBaihetan Dam: 13,050 MW13kBaihetan D…Xiangjiaba: 7,750 MW8kXiangjiabaNuozhadu: 5,850 MW6kNuozhaduLongtan: 4,900 MW5kLongtanJinping II: 4,800 MW5kJinping IIAhai: 4,750 MW5kAhai

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 monsoon warm-summer continental climate (Köppen Dwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 40.9°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

5.0°Cannual mean temp
4,871heating degree-days (base 18°C)
155cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
697 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -14 °CJF: -10 °CFM: -2 °CMA: 6 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 6 °CON: -2 °CND: -10 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 98% 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: 93/100 — 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

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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
34.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
164 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 #125 largest hydro power plant of 947 in China by capacity.

China has 947 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 262,337 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 40.9022, 125.9744 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Laohushao?

Laohushao is a 390 MW source-record hydro power plant in Jilin Sheng, China, commissioned in 1986.

How many homes can Laohushao power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 390,445 homes (estimated).

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