SANJAY BHABA — India

SANJAY BHABA is a 120 MW hydro power station in Uttarakhand, India. Based on reported annual generation of 586 GWh, it can supply roughly 168k homes. It ranks #809 of 2,225 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1989, it is around 37 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 8.6% of India's electricity; the national grid averages 670 gCO₂/kWh (26.7% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id IND0000391.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 120 MW, SANJAY BHABA is well above the median hydro plant in India (80 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.

Key facts

Load factor

56%, from 586 GWh of reported generation; the median for 173 hydro plants in India that report generation is 35%

Generation trend

542 GWh in 2014 and 586 GWh in 2018 (+8%)

Highest and lowest year

2018: 586 GWh; 2016: 186 GWh

Share of India hydro capacity

0.3% of 45,527 MW across 233 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

108 of 233 dated hydro plants in India are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

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

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 31.3°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 243% 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: 100/100 — 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

This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

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 #91 largest hydro power plant of 233 in India by capacity.

India has 233 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 45,527 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• BASPA · Hydro · 300 MW · Himachal Pradesh
• KARCHAM WANGTOO · Hydro · 1,045 MW · Himachal Pradesh
• ANDHRA · Hydro · 16.9 MW · Himachal Pradesh
• NATHPA JHAKRI · Hydro · 1,500 MW · Himachal Pradesh
• MANERI BHALI · Hydro · 304 MW · Uttarakhand
• GHANVI · Hydro · 22.5 MW · Himachal Pradesh

Location

Coordinates 31.2642, 78.4835 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions