Home / Asia / Laos / Nam Theun 2

Nam Theun 2

Hydro power plant in Nong Khai, Laos. Approximate location 18.4375, 102.947.

HydroNong KhaiLaos

Nam Theun 2 is a 1,070 MW hydro power station in Nong Khai, Laos. It is operated by EDF. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1,071,222 homes (estimated). It ranks #2 of 20 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).

1,070MW installed capacity
1,071,222homes powered (est.)
2010commissioned (~16 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1001053.

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 EDF. 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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 18.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

24.0°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,195cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
373 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 19 °CJF: 20 °CFM: 23 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 27 °CMJ: 28 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 26 °CSO: 24 °CON: 22 °CND: 19 °CD28 °C

Heating degree-days here run 100% 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: 13/100 — 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 #1 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 18.4375, 102.947 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.