Hydro power plant in Western Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Approximate location -2.6334, 28.9027.
HydroWestern ProvinceDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Ruzizi I is a 81 MW hydro power plant in Western Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is operated by Societe Nationale D'elec. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 81,092 homes (estimated). It ranks #6 of 15 Democratic Republic of the Congo power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1958, it is around 68 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 84.2% of Democratic Republic of the Congo's electricity; the national grid averages 28 gCO₂/kWh (100.0% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1000009.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Societe Nationale D'elec. All plants by this company →
This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 2.6°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
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.
The #6 largest hydro power plant of 13 in Democratic Republic of the Congo by capacity.
Democratic Republic of the Congo has 13 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 3,019 MW of capacity.
Coordinates -2.6334, 28.9027 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
