'Muela is a 72 MW hydro power plant in Butha-Buthe, Lesotho. It ranks #1 of 1 Lesotho power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1998, it is around 28 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 100.0% of Lesotho's electricity; the national grid averages 21 gCO₂/kWh (100.0% low-carbon) (2022).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023088.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
Technically it is described as conventional storage. Its current lifecycle status is “Mothballed” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. 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.
How it compares & nearby plants
Lesotho has 1 hydro power plant in this dataset, together about 72 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Bethlehem Hydro · Hydro · 7 MW · Orange Free State
- Drakensberg · Hydro · 1,000 MW · Orange Free State
Location
Coordinates -28.7804, 28.4535 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is 'Muela?
'Muela is a 72 MW hydro power plant in Butha-Buthe, Lesotho, commissioned in 1998.