Madame Denise (Cachoeira do Furado) — Brazil

Madame Denise (Cachoeira do Furado) is a 2.88 MW hydro power plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 2.9k homes (estimated). It ranks #1929 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1935, it is around 91 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 51.8% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0028218.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: ANEEL SIGA official registry; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 2.88 MW, Madame Denise (Cachoeira do Furado) is below the median hydro plant in Brazil (11.5 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.

Key facts

Share of Brazil hydro capacity

less than 0.1% of 105,987 MW across 701 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

30 of 658 dated hydro plants in Brazil are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Brazil

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) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 19.6°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 96% 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: 15/100 — 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

This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

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 #527 largest hydro power plant of 701 in Brazil by capacity.

Brazil has 701 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 105,987 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Asja Sabará power station · Biomass · 7.1 MW · Minas Gerais
• Aeroporto Internacional Tancredo Neves · Oil · 2.2 MW · Minas Gerais
• Asja BH · Waste · 4.3 MW · Minas Gerais
• Precon Minas Gerais PL · Oil · 2.4 MW · Minas Gerais
• Arrudas · Waste · 2.4 MW · Minas Gerais
• Central Mineirão · Solar · 1.4 MW · Minas Gerais

Location

Coordinates -19.6428, -43.6911 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions