Home / Africa / Burundi / Mpanda Burundi

Mpanda Burundi

Hydro power plant in Bubanza, Burundi. Approximate location -3.0833, 29.3944.

HydroBubanzaBurundi

Mpanda Burundi is a 10 MW hydro power plant in Bubanza, Burundi. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 10k homes (estimated). It ranks #3 of 4 Burundi power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 73.5% of Burundi's electricity; the national grid averages 184 gCO₂/kWh (75.5% low-carbon) (2024).

10Legacy source-record capacity
10,411homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023025.

Data status

Known data

FacilityMpanda Burundi WRI
CountryBurundi · Bubanza WRI
Coordinates-3.0833, 29.3944 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity10 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#3 of 4 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#3 of 3 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent10,411 calculated
Climate21.6°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 31/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

OwnerNot available not in dataset
CommissionedNot available not in dataset
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 Burundi

Kabu: 20 MW20KabuRwegura: 18 MW18RweguraMpanda Burundi: 10 MW10Mpanda Bur…

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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 3.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

21.6°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,315cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,226 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 21 °CFM: 22 °CMA: 21 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 22 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 22 °CON: 21 °CND: 22 °CD22 °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 a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
31/100environmental-severity index
1.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
300 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 #3 largest hydro power plant of 3 in Burundi by capacity.

Burundi has 3 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 48 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -3.0833, 29.3944 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Mpanda Burundi?

Mpanda Burundi is a 10 MW source-record hydro power plant in Bubanza, Burundi.

How many homes can Mpanda Burundi power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 10,411 homes (estimated).

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