Santa Carolina — Brazil
Hydro power plant in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Approximate location -28.6151, -51.4034.
HydroRio Grande do SulBrazil
Santa Carolina is a 10.5 MW hydro power plant in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 11k homes (estimated). It ranks #1329 of 2,572 Brazil power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2016, it is around 10 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 51.8% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0030723.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
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 10.5 MW, Santa Carolina is around the median hydro plant in Brazil (11.5 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
- Share of Brazil hydro capacity
- less than 0.1% of 105,987 MW across 701 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 629 of 658 dated hydro plants in Brazil are older
Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).
Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Brazil
Installed capacity (MW), 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 temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 28.6°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 65% 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: 25/100 — this site sits in the bottom 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), 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 #363 largest hydro power plant of 701 in Brazil by capacity.
Brazil has 701 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 105,987 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Da Ilha · Hydro · 26 MW · Rio Grande do Sul
- Jararaca · Hydro · 28 MW · Rio Grande do Sul
- Oleoplan Veranópolis power station · Biomass · 6.8 MW · Rio Grande do Sul
- Castro Alves · Hydro · 130 MW · Rio Grande do Sul
- Caçador · Hydro · 22.5 MW · Rio Grande do Sul
- São Paulo · Hydro · 16 MW · Rio Grande do Sul
Location
Coordinates -28.6151, -51.4034 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Santa Carolina?
Santa Carolina is a 10.5 MW hydro power plant in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, commissioned in 2016.