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Lower White River

Hydro power plant in Saint Ann, Jamaica. Approximate location 18.4122, -77.0696.

HydroSaint AnnJamaica

Lower White River is a 5 MW hydro power plant in Saint Ann, Jamaica. It is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 4.8k homes (estimated). It ranks #12 of 13 Jamaica power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1952, it is around 74 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 2.4% of Jamaica's electricity; the national grid averages 563 gCO₂/kWh (12.6% low-carbon) (2024).

5Legacy source-record capacity
4,805homes powered (est.)
1952commissioned (~74 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023925.

Data status

Known data

FacilityLower White River WRI
CountryJamaica · Saint Ann WRI
Coordinates18.4122, -77.0696 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity5 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerJamaica Public Service Company WRI
Commissioned1952 WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#12 of 13 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#2 of 3 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent4,805 calculated
Climate23.7°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 45/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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

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 Jamaica

Maggotty Hydro: 6 MW6Maggotty H…Lower White River: 5 MW5Lower Whit…Upper White River: 4 MW4Upper Whit…

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

Owner

Operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.

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 18.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

23.7°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,095cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
286 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 23 °CMA: 23 °CAM: 24 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 25 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 24 °CON: 24 °CND: 23 °CD25 °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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
45/100environmental-severity index
3.0°Cseasonal temperature swing
26 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 #2 largest hydro power plant of 3 in Jamaica by capacity.

Jamaica has 3 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 15 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 18.4122, -77.0696 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Lower White River?

Lower White River is a 5 MW source-record hydro power plant in Saint Ann, Jamaica, commissioned in 1952.

How many homes can Lower White River power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 4,805 homes (estimated).

Who operates Lower White River?

Lower White River is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.

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