Martin Dam

Hydro power plant in Alabama, United States of America. Approximate location 32.6804, -85.9114.

HydroAlabamaUnited States of America

Martin Dam is a 211 MW hydro power station in Alabama, United States of America. It is operated by Alabama Power Co. Based on reported annual generation of 412 GWh, it can supply roughly 117,657 homes. It ranks #1190 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1934, it is around 92 years old — an older, legacy facility. 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).

211MW installed capacity
412GWh reported / yr
117,657homes powered
1934commissioned (~92 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0000016.

Reported generation trend

2013: 413 GWh20132014: 348 GWh20142015: 290 GWh20152016: 304 GWh20162017: 318 GWh20172018: 348 GWh20182019: 412 GWh2019413 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Alabama Power Co. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 32.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

17.5°Cannual mean temp
1,191heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,016cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
150 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 7 °CJF: 9 °CFM: 13 °CMA: 17 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 24 °CSO: 18 °CON: 13 °CND: 9 °CD27 °C

Heating degree-days here run 52% 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: 29/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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 #85 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 32.6804, -85.9114 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.