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Lockport Powerhouse

Hydro power plant in Illinois, United States of America. Approximate location 41.5697, -88.0789.

HydroIllinoisUnited States of America

Lockport Powerhouse is a 16 MW hydro power plant in Illinois, United States of America. It is operated by Metro Wtr Recl Dist Grtr Chi. Based on reported annual generation of 41 GWh, it can supply roughly 11,742 homes. It ranks #4053 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2000, it is around 26 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 5.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

16MW installed capacity
41GWh reported / yr
11,742homes powered
2000commissioned (~26 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0010903.

Reported generation trend

2013: 33 GWh20132014: 42 GWh20142015: 42 GWh20152016: 36 GWh20162017: 38 GWh20172018: 42 GWh20182019: 41 GWh201942 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Metro Wtr Recl Dist Grtr Chi.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 41.6°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

9.6°Cannual mean temp
3,402heating degree-days (base 18°C)
362cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
216 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -6 °CJF: -3 °CFM: 3 °CMA: 9 °CAM: 16 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 23 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 18 °CSO: 11 °CON: 4 °CND: -3 °CD23 °C

Heating degree-days here run 38% 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: 73/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #521 largest hydro power plant of 1449 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1449 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 101,657 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 41.5697, -88.0789 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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