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Siahbishe

Hydro power plant in Tehran, Iran. Approximate location 36.2179, 51.3047.

HydroTehranIranpumped storage

Siahbishe is a 1,000 MW hydro power station in Tehran, Iran. It is operated by Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.0 million homes (estimated). It ranks #36 of 177 Iran power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 3.3% of Iran's electricity; the national grid averages 660 gCO₂/kWh (5.7% low-carbon) (2025).

1,000Source-backed capacity
1,001,142homes powered (est.)
2015commissioned (~11 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029940.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySiahbishe WRI
CountryIran · Tehran WRI
Coordinates36.2179, 51.3047 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity1,000 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerIran Water and Power Resources Development Company WRI
Commissioned2015 WRI
Technologypumped storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#36 of 177 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#5 of 19 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers7.69× · 130 MW median · 19 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,001,142 calculated
Climate5.1°C · HDD 4,714 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC2 · 32/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

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 operating-unit sum (location L100000602178); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,000 MW, Siahbishe is well above the median hydro plant in Iran (130 MW). Technically it is described as pumped 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 Iran

Karoune 3: 2,000 MW2kKaroune 3Masjed Soleyman: 2,000 MW2kMasjed Sol…Shahid Abbaspuor: 2,000 MW2kShahid Abb…Upper Gotvand: 1,016 MW1kUpper Gotv…Siahbishe: 1,000 MW1kSiahbisheKaroune 4: 765 MW765Karoune 4Dez: 520 MW520DezSeymareh: 480 MW480Seymareh

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a warm-summer Mediterranean continental climate (Köppen Dsb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 36.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

5.1°Cannual mean temp
4,714heating degree-days (base 18°C)
14cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
3,125 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -9 °CJF: -7 °CFM: -3 °CMA: 4 °CAM: 9 °CMJ: 15 °CJJ: 18 °CJA: 18 °CAS: 14 °CSO: 7 °CON: 0 °CND: -6 °CD18 °C

Heating degree-days here run 92% 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: 92/100 — 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)
32/100environmental-severity index
27.3°Cseasonal temperature swing
72 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 #5 largest hydro power plant of 19 in Iran by capacity.

Iran has 19 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 10,818 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 36.2179, 51.3047 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Siahbishe?

Siahbishe is a 1,000 MW source-record hydro power plant in Tehran, Iran, commissioned in 2015.

How many homes can Siahbishe power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,001,142 homes (estimated).

Who operates Siahbishe?

Siahbishe is operated by Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company.

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