Upper White River — Jamaica
Hydro power plant in Saint Ann, Jamaica. Approximate location 18.3751, -77.0514.
HydroSaint AnnJamaica
Upper White River is a 3.6 MW hydro power plant in Saint Ann, Jamaica. It is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 3.6k homes (estimated). It ranks #13 of 13 Jamaica power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1945, it is around 81 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 2.4% of Jamaica's electricity; the national grid averages 563 gCO₂/kWh (12.6% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023927.
Data status
Known data
Calculated from dataset
Not available
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
Data provenance
Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.
capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD
In context: how this plant compares
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 Jamaica hydro capacity
- 24.3% of 15 MW across 3 plants in this dataset
- Age among peers
- 0 of 3 dated hydro plants in Jamaica 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 Jamaica
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Owner
Operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.
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) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 18.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.
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
This site sits in an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.
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 #3 largest hydro power plant of 3 in Jamaica by capacity.
Jamaica has 3 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 15 MW of capacity.
Nearby power plants
- Lower White River · Hydro · 4.8 MW · Saint Ann
- Rusal power station · Coal · 90 MW · Saint Catherine
- Hunts Bay · Oil · 122.5 MW · Kingston
- West Kingston · Oil · 65 MW · Kingston
- Old Harbour · Oil · 347.5 MW · Saint Catherine
- Jamalco power station · Gas · 150 MW · Clarendon
Location
Coordinates 18.3751, -77.0514 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Frequently asked questions
What type of power plant is Upper White River?
Upper White River is a 3.6 MW hydro power plant in Saint Ann, Jamaica, commissioned in 1945.
Who operates Upper White River?
Upper White River is operated by Jamaica Public Service Company.