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Nam Lik 1-2

Hydro power plant in Vientiane, Laos. Approximate location 18.7942, 102.1162.

HydroVientianeLaosconventional storage

Nam Lik 1-2 is a 100 MW hydro power station in Vientiane, Laos. It is operated by Nam Lik 1-2 Power Company Limited. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 100k homes (estimated). It ranks #15 of 26 Laos power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2010, it is around 16 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 76.5% of Laos's electricity; the national grid averages 232 gCO₂/kWh (76.7% low-carbon) (2024).

100Source-backed capacity
100,114homes powered (est.)
2010commissioned (~16 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1026796.

Data status

Known data

FacilityNam Lik 1-2 WRI
CountryLaos · Vientiane WRI
Coordinates18.7942, 102.1162 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity100 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerNam Lik 1-2 Power Company Limited WRI
Commissioned2010 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#15 of 26 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#8 of 19 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers2.27× · 44 MW median · 19 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent100,114 calculated
Climate24.9°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 34/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000602372); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 100 MW, Nam Lik 1-2 is well above the median hydro plant in Laos (44 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. 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 Laos

Nam Theun 2: 1,070 MW1kNam Theun 2Nam Ngum 2: 735 MW735Nam Ngum 2Theun Hinboun: 280 MW280Theun Hinb…Xekaman 3: 250 MW250Xekaman 3Houay Ho: 157 MW157Houay HoNam Ngum 1: 155 MW155Nam Ngum 1Xeset 1: 121 MW121Xeset 1Nam Lik 1-2: 100 MW100Nam Lik 1-2

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Nam Lik 1-2 Power Company Limited.

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) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 18.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

24.9°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,536cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
319 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 20 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 25 °CMA: 27 °CAM: 27 °CMJ: 28 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 25 °CON: 23 °CND: 20 °CD28 °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)
34/100environmental-severity index
7.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
382 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 #8 largest hydro power plant of 19 in Laos by capacity.

Laos has 19 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 3,109 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 18.7942, 102.1162 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Nam Lik 1-2?

Nam Lik 1-2 is a 100 MW source-record hydro power plant in Vientiane, Laos, commissioned in 2010.

How many homes can Nam Lik 1-2 power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 100,114 homes (estimated).

Who operates Nam Lik 1-2?

Nam Lik 1-2 is operated by Nam Lik 1-2 Power Company Limited.

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