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Sounda Gorge

Hydro power plant in Niari, Congo. Approximate location -4.0767, 12.1569.

HydroNiariCongo

Sounda Gorge is a 10 MW hydro power plant in Niari, Congo. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 10,011 homes (estimated). It ranks #8 of 8 Congo power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 20.1% of Congo's electricity; the national grid averages 716 gCO₂/kWh (20.9% low-carbon) (2024).

10MW installed capacity
10,011homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023151.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Congo

Imboulou: 120 MW120ImboulouMoukoukoulou: 74 MW74Moukoukoul…Djoue: 15 MW15DjoueSounda Gorge: 10 MW10Sounda Gor…

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 tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Southern Hemisphere, latitude 4.1°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

24.1°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
2,234cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
349 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 26 °CMA: 26 °CAM: 25 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 23 °CSO: 24 °CON: 25 °CND: 25 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 100% 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: 13/100 — this site sits in the bottom third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

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.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #4 largest hydro power plant of 4 in Congo by capacity.

Congo has 4 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 219 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates -4.0767, 12.1569 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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