Home / North America / United States of America / Rumford Falls Hydro Facility

Rumford Falls Hydro Facility

Hydro power plant in Maine, United States of America. Approximate location 44.5486, -70.6283.

HydroMaineUnited States of America

Rumford Falls Hydro Facility is a 44 MW hydro power plant in Maine, United States of America. It is operated by Brookfield Power New England. Based on reported annual generation of 254 GWh, it can supply roughly 73k homes. It ranks #3893 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1934, it is around 92 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 5.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

44Source-backed capacity
254GWh reported / yr
72,571homes powered
1934commissioned (~92 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0010493.

Data status

Known data

FacilityRumford Falls Hydro Facility WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Maine WRI
Coordinates44.5486, -70.6283 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity44 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerBrookfield Power New England WRI
Commissioned1934 WRI
GWh reported / yr254 GWh/yr WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#3893 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#314 of 1449 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers5.56× · 8 MW median · 1449 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent72,571 calculated from reported generation
Climate5.6°C · HDD 4,535 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 34/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
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 L100001025892); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 44 MW, Rumford Falls Hydro Facility is well above the median hydro plant in United States of America (8 MW). 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.

Reported generation trend

2013: 295 GWh20132014: 288 GWh20142015: 268 GWh20152016: 213 GWh20162017: 269 GWh20172018: 263 GWh20182019: 254 GWh2019295 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Brookfield Power New England.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 44.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

5.6°Cannual mean temp
4,535heating degree-days (base 18°C)
42cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
328 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -9 °CJF: -8 °CFM: -2 °CMA: 5 °CAM: 12 °CMJ: 16 °CJJ: 19 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 7 °CON: 1 °CND: -6 °CD19 °C

Heating degree-days here run 84% above 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: 91/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
34/100environmental-severity index
28.4°Cseasonal temperature swing
95 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 #314 largest hydro power plant of 1449 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1449 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 102,513 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 44.5486, -70.6283 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Rumford Falls Hydro Facility?

Rumford Falls Hydro Facility is a 44 MW source-record hydro power plant in Maine, United States of America, commissioned in 1934.

How much electricity does Rumford Falls Hydro Facility generate?

Rumford Falls Hydro Facility generates about 254 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can Rumford Falls Hydro Facility power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 72,571 homes.

Who operates Rumford Falls Hydro Facility?

Rumford Falls Hydro Facility is operated by Brookfield Power New England.

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