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Pangani Falls

Hydro power plant in Tanga, Tanzania. Approximate location -5.3491, 38.6503.

HydroTangaTanzaniarun-of-river

Pangani Falls is a 68 MW hydro power plant in Tanga, Tanzania. It is operated by Tanzania Electric Supply Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 68k homes (estimated). It ranks #22 of 29 Tanzania power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1995, it is around 31 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 31.7% of Tanzania's electricity; the national grid averages 345 gCO₂/kWh (32.9% low-carbon) (2024).

68Source-backed capacity
68,077homes powered (est.)
1995commissioned (~31 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1019871.

Data status

Known data

FacilityPangani Falls WRI
CountryTanzania · Tanga WRI
Coordinates-5.3491, 38.6503 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity68 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerTanzania Electric Supply Company WRI
Commissioned1995 WRI
Technologyrun-of-river WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#22 of 29 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#4 of 6 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.85× · 80 MW median · 6 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent68,077 calculated
Climate26.5°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 43/100 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 L100001023283); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 68 MW, Pangani Falls is below the median hydro plant in Tanzania (80 MW). Technically it is described as run-of-river. 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 Tanzania

Kidatu: 200 MW200KidatuKihansi: 180 MW180KihansiMtera: 80 MW80MteraPangani Falls: 68 MW68Pangani Fa…Hale: 21 MW21HaleNyumba ya Mungu: 8 MW8Nyumba ya …

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

Owner

Operated by Tanzania Electric Supply Company. 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 monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 5.3°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

26.5°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,100cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
67 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 28 °CJF: 29 °CFM: 29 °CMA: 27 °CAM: 26 °CMJ: 25 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 25 °CSO: 26 °CON: 27 °CND: 28 °CD29 °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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
43/100environmental-severity index
4.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
87 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 #4 largest hydro power plant of 6 in Tanzania by capacity.

Tanzania has 6 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 557 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -5.3491, 38.6503 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Pangani Falls?

Pangani Falls is a 68 MW source-record hydro power plant in Tanga, Tanzania, commissioned in 1995.

How many homes can Pangani Falls power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 68,077 homes (estimated).

Who operates Pangani Falls?

Pangani Falls is operated by Tanzania Electric Supply Company.

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