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Mubuku-3

Hydro power plant in Western Region, Uganda. Approximate location 0.3241, 30.046.

HydroWestern RegionUganda

Mubuku-3 is a 10 MW hydro power plant in Western Region, Uganda. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 11k homes (estimated). It ranks #13 of 16 Uganda power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 86.1% of Uganda's electricity; the national grid averages 59 gCO₂/kWh (97.1% low-carbon) (2024).

10Legacy source-record capacity
10,512homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023208.

Data status

Known data

FacilityMubuku-3 WRI
CountryUganda · Western Region WRI
Coordinates0.3241, 30.046 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity10 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#13 of 16 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#5 of 6 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.06× · 180 MW median · 6 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent10,512 calculated
Climate20.4°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

At 10 MW, Mubuku-3 is below the median hydro plant in Uganda (180 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.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Uganda

Bujagali Falls: 250 MW250Bujagali F…Kiira: 200 MW200KiiraNarubale: 180 MW180NarubaleBugoye: 11 MW11BugoyeMubuku-3: 10 MW10Mubuku-3Ishasha River: 10 MW10Ishasha Ri…

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 As) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 0.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

20.4°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
889cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,442 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 21 °CJF: 21 °CFM: 21 °CMA: 21 °CAM: 21 °CMJ: 20 °CJJ: 20 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 20 °CSO: 20 °CON: 20 °CND: 20 °CD21 °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
1.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
218 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 #5 largest hydro power plant of 6 in Uganda by capacity.

Uganda has 6 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 662 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 0.3241, 30.046 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Mubuku-3?

Mubuku-3 is a 10 MW source-record hydro power plant in Western Region, Uganda.

How many homes can Mubuku-3 power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 10,512 homes (estimated).

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