Ramu

Hydro power plant in Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. Approximate location -6.2505, 145.9805.

HydroEastern HighlandsPapua New Guineaconventional storagePre Construction

Ramu is a 75 MW hydro power plant in Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea. It is operated by PNG Power Limited. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 75k homes (estimated). It ranks #1 of 15 Papua New Guinea power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 21.1% of Papua New Guinea's electricity; the national grid averages 514 gCO₂/kWh (23.7% low-carbon) (2024).

75Legacy source-record capacity
75,085homes powered (est.)
1991Pre Construction year

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1022419.

Data status

Known data

FacilityRamu WRI
CountryPapua New Guinea · Eastern Highlands WRI
Coordinates-6.2505, 145.9805 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity75 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerPNG Power Limited WRI
Commissioned1991 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1 of 15 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#1 of 6 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers4.17× · 18 MW median · 6 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent75,085 calculated
Climate19.9°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 37/100 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 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 75 MW, Ramu is well above the median hydro plant in Papua New Guinea (18 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. Its current lifecycle status is “pre construction” — 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.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Papua New Guinea

Ramu: 75 MW75RamuOk Menga: 57 MW57Ok MengaYonki Toe of Dam: 18 MW18Yonki Toe …Pauanda: 12 MW12PauandaLake Hargy: 2 MW2Lake HargySirinumu Dam: 2 MW2Sirinumu D…

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

Owner

Operated by PNG Power Limited.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 6.3°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

19.9°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
678cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,422 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 21 °CJF: 21 °CFM: 20 °CMA: 20 °CAM: 20 °CMJ: 19 °CJJ: 19 °CJA: 19 °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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
37/100environmental-severity index
1.8°Cseasonal temperature swing
63 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 #1 largest hydro power plant of 6 in Papua New Guinea by capacity.

Papua New Guinea has 6 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 165 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -6.2505, 145.9805 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Ramu?

Ramu is a 75 MW source-record hydro power plant in Eastern Highlands, Papua New Guinea, planned/announced for 1991.

How many homes can Ramu power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 75,085 homes (estimated).

Who operates Ramu?

Ramu is operated by PNG Power Limited.

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