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Teles Pires — Brazil

Hydro power plant in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Approximate location -9.3515, -56.778.

HydroMato GrossoBrazilrun-of-river

Teles Pires is a 1,820 MW hydro power station in Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is operated by Eletrobras. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.8 million homes (estimated). It ranks #21 of 2,572 Brazil 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 51.8% of Brazil's electricity; the national grid averages 110 gCO₂/kWh (88.7% low-carbon) (2025).

1,820MW installed capacity
1,822,080homes powered (est.)
2015commissioned (~11 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id BRA0030557.

Data status

Known data

FacilityTeles Pires WRI
CountryBrazil · Mato Grosso WRI
Coordinates-9.3515, -56.778 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity1,820 MW GEM · 2026 · L100000600354; operating plant capacity
Verification noteQuality label backfilled from existing source-backed capacity provenance on 2026-07-05; capacity value was not changed. source-verified
OwnerEletrobras WRI
Commissioned2015 WRI
Technologyrun-of-river WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#21 / 2572 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#10 / 701 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers158.26× · 11.5 MW · n=701 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,822,080 calculated
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

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000600354; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,820 MW, Teles Pires is well above the median hydro plant in Brazil (11.5 MW). Technically it is described as run-of-river. 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
1.7% of 105,987 MW across 701 plants in this dataset
Age among peers
604 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

Belo Monte: 11,233 MW11kBelo MonteTucuruí: 8,535 MW9kTucuruíItaipu (Parte Brasileira): 7,000 MW7kItaipu (Pa…Jirau: 3,750 MW4kJirauSanto Antônio: 3,568 MW4kSanto Antô…Ilha Solteira: 3,444 MW3kIlha Solte…Xingó: 3,162 MW3kXingóPaulo Afonso IV: 2,462 MW2kPaulo Afon…

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

Owner

Operated by Eletrobras.

Climate zone & how it works

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 9.4°S — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~26°Ctypical annual mean
~29°Ctypical warm-season mean
Tropical savanna: hot and humid year-round with little seasonal variation

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

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.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
33/100environmental-severity index
1.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
1310 kmdistance to coast

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 #10 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

Location

Coordinates -9.3515, -56.778 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Teles Pires?

Teles Pires is a 1,820 MW hydro power plant in Mato Grosso, Brazil, commissioned in 2015.

Who operates Teles Pires?

Teles Pires is operated by Eletrobras.

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