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Saint Dalmas

Hydro power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. Approximate location 44.047, 7.586.

HydroProvence-Alpes-Cote d'AzurFranceconventional storage

Saint Dalmas is a 50 MW hydro power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France. It is operated by EDF. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 50k homes (estimated). It ranks #170 of 2,216 France power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1917, it is around 109 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 10.4% of France's electricity; the national grid averages 41 gCO₂/kWh (94.9% low-carbon) (2025).

50Source-backed capacity
50,057homes powered (est.)
1917commissioned (~109 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1026722.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySaint Dalmas WRI
CountryFrance · Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur WRI
Coordinates44.047, 7.586 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity50 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerEDF WRI
Commissioned1917 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI
Observed long-tail demand3 GSC impressions (centrale hydroélectrique de saint chamas, centrale hydroélectrique de saint-chamas) Google Search Console

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#170 of 2216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#82 of 428 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers9.43× · 5 MW median · 428 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent50,057 calculated
Climate12.2°C · HDD 2,267 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 37/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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 L100001023044); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 50 MW, Saint Dalmas is well above the median hydro plant in France (5 MW). Technically it is described as conventional storage. 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 France

GRAND MAISON: 1,713 MW2kGRAND MAIS…MONTEZIC: 910 MW910MONTEZICREVIN: 808 MW808REVINSUPER BISSORTE: 742 MW742SUPER BISS…BATHIE: 600 MW600BATHIECHEYLAS: 485 MW485CHEYLASPOUGET: 447 MW447POUGETGENISSIAT: 420 MW420GENISSIAT

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 temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 44.0°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.2°Cannual mean temp
2,267heating degree-days (base 18°C)
171cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
726 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 5 °CJF: 6 °CFM: 8 °CMA: 10 °CAM: 14 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 17 °CSO: 13 °CON: 8 °CND: 6 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 8% 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: 47/100 — this site sits in the mid 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 corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
37/100environmental-severity index
15.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
34 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 #82 largest hydro power plant of 428 in France by capacity.

France has 428 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 19,602 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 44.047, 7.586 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Saint Dalmas?

Saint Dalmas is a 50 MW source-record hydro power plant in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France, commissioned in 1917.

How many homes can Saint Dalmas power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 50,057 homes (estimated).

Who operates Saint Dalmas?

Saint Dalmas is operated by EDF.

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