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Sir Adam Beck Pump

Hydro power plant in New York, Canada. Approximate location 43.1446, -79.0599.

HydroNew YorkCanadapumped storage

Sir Adam Beck Pump is a 174 MW hydro power station in New York, Canada. It is operated by Ontario Power Generation Inc [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 174k homes (estimated). It ranks #184 of 1,211 Canada power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1957, it is around 69 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 52.8% of Canada's electricity; the national grid averages 191 gCO₂/kWh (77.0% low-carbon) (2025).

174Source-backed capacity
174,198homes powered (est.)
1957commissioned (~69 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CAN0002239.

Data status

Known data

FacilitySir Adam Beck Pump WRI
CountryCanada · New York WRI
Coordinates43.1446, -79.0599 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity174 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerOntario Power Generation Inc [100%] WRI
Commissioned1957 WRI
Technologypumped storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#184 of 1211 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#90 of 556 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers14.50× · 12 MW median · 556 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent174,198 calculated
Climate8.5°C · HDD 3,634 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 33/100 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 (location L100000600526); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 174 MW, Sir Adam Beck Pump is well above the median hydro plant in Canada (12 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 Canada

Robert-Bourassa: 5,616 MW6kRobert-Bou…Churchill Falls: 5,428 MW5kChurchill …La Grande-4: 2,779 MW3kLa Grande-4Mica: 2,746 MW3kMicaG.M. Shrum: 2,730 MW3kG.M. ShrumRevelstoke: 2,480 MW2kRevelstokeLa Grande-3: 2,417 MW2kLa Grande-3La Grande-2-A: 2,106 MW2kLa Grande-…

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

Owner

Operated by Ontario Power Generation Inc [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 43.1°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.5°Cannual mean temp
3,634heating degree-days (base 18°C)
197cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
181 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -4 °CJF: -4 °CFM: 1 °CMA: 7 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 20 °CAS: 16 °CSO: 10 °CON: 4 °CND: -1 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 48% 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: 79/100 — 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 moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with thermal cycling the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
33/100environmental-severity index
25.9°Cseasonal temperature swing
130 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 #90 largest hydro power plant of 556 in Canada by capacity.

Canada has 556 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 81,037 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 43.1446, -79.0599 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Sir Adam Beck Pump?

Sir Adam Beck Pump is a 174 MW source-record hydro power plant in New York, Canada, commissioned in 1957.

How many homes can Sir Adam Beck Pump power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 174,198 homes (estimated).

Who operates Sir Adam Beck Pump?

Sir Adam Beck Pump is operated by Ontario Power Generation Inc [100%].

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