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Tongzilin

Hydro power plant in Sichuan, China. Approximate location 26.71, 101.85.

HydroSichuanChinaconventional storage

Tongzilin is a 600 MW hydro power station in Sichuan, China. It is operated by State Development Investment Corporation Power Shareholding Co Ltd [52%]; Sichua. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 601k homes (estimated). It ranks #1582 of 6,685 China 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 13.2% of China's electricity; the national grid averages 525 gCO₂/kWh (41.7% low-carbon) (2025).

600Source-backed capacity
600,685homes powered (est.)
2016commissioned (~10 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061009.

Data status

Known data

FacilityTongzilin WRI
CountryChina · Sichuan WRI
Coordinates26.71, 101.85 WRI
FuelHydro WRI
MW installed capacity600 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerState Development Investment Corporation Power Shareholding Co Ltd [52%]; Sichua WRI
Commissioned2016 WRI
Technologyconventional storage WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1582 of 6685 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#95 of 947 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers25.00× · 24 MW median · 947 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent600,685 calculated
Climate19.2°C · HDD 553 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 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 (location L100000601219); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 600 MW, Tongzilin is well above the median hydro plant in China (24 MW). Technically it is described as conventional 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 China

Three Gorges Dam: 22,500 MW22kThree Gorg…Xiluodu: 13,860 MW14kXiluoduBaihetan Dam: 13,050 MW13kBaihetan D…Xiangjiaba: 7,750 MW8kXiangjiabaNuozhadu: 5,850 MW6kNuozhaduLongtan: 4,900 MW5kLongtanJinping II: 4,800 MW5kJinping IIAhai: 4,750 MW5kAhai

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

Owner

Operated by State Development Investment Corporation Power Shareholding Co Ltd [52%]; Sichua.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a humid subtropical (dry winter) climate (Köppen Cwa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 26.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

19.2°Cannual mean temp
553heating degree-days (base 18°C)
986cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,411 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 12 °CJF: 15 °CFM: 18 °CMA: 22 °CAM: 24 °CMJ: 24 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 22 °CSO: 19 °CON: 15 °CND: 12 °CD24 °C

Heating degree-days here run 78% 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: 21/100 — 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

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 humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
32/100environmental-severity index
12.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
852 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 #95 largest hydro power plant of 947 in China by capacity.

China has 947 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 262,337 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 26.71, 101.85 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Tongzilin?

Tongzilin is a 600 MW source-record hydro power plant in Sichuan, China, commissioned in 2016.

How many homes can Tongzilin power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 600,685 homes (estimated).

Who operates Tongzilin?

Tongzilin is operated by State Development Investment Corporation Power Shareholding Co Ltd [52%]; Sichua.

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