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Vallecito Hydroelectric

Hydro power plant in Colorado, United States of America. Approximate location 37.3777, -107.5787.

HydroColoradoUnited States of America

Vallecito Hydroelectric is a 6 MW hydro power plant in Colorado, United States of America. It is operated by Ptarmigan Res & Engy Inc. Based on reported annual generation of 22 GWh, it can supply roughly 6,400 homes. It ranks #5433 of 9,833 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1989, it is around 37 years old — long-established. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 5.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

6MW installed capacity
22GWh reported / yr
6,400homes powered
1989commissioned (~37 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0050206.

Reported generation trend

2013: 16 GWh20132014: 21 GWh20142015: 19 GWh20152016: 23 GWh20162017: 26 GWh20172018: 19 GWh20182019: 22 GWh201926 GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Ptarmigan Res & Engy Inc.

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 37.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

5.7°Cannual mean temp
4,458heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
2,399 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -5 °CJF: -3 °CFM: 0 °CMA: 4 °CAM: 9 °CMJ: 14 °CJJ: 17 °CJA: 17 °CAS: 13 °CSO: 7 °CON: 1 °CND: -4 °CD17 °C

Heating degree-days here run 81% 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: 90/100 — this site sits in the top 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 #817 largest hydro power plant of 1449 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 1449 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 101,657 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 37.3777, -107.5787 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

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