VALPELLINE — Italy

VALPELLINE is a 130 MW hydro power station in Aosta Valley, Italy. It is operated by CVA SpA [100%]. Based on reported annual generation of 279 GWh, it can supply roughly 80k homes. It ranks #141 of 489 Italy power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1951, it is around 75 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 15.8% of Italy's electricity; the national grid averages 285 gCO₂/kWh (48.8% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1002979.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000602238; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 130 MW, VALPELLINE is around the median hydro plant in Italy (132 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.

Key facts

Load factor

25%, from 279 GWh of reported generation; the median for 40 hydro plants in Italy that report generation is 14%

Generation trend

390 GWh in 2015 and 279 GWh in 2017 (−28%)

Highest and lowest year

2015: 390 GWh; 2017: 279 GWh

Share of Italy hydro capacity

1.0% of 13,593 MW across 58 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

14 of 46 dated hydro plants in Italy are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

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

Owner

Operated by CVA SpA [100%].

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a polar tundra climate (Köppen ET) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 45.8°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 99% 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: 93/100 — this site sits in the top 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

This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with thermal cycling 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 #31 largest hydro power plant of 58 in Italy by capacity.

Italy has 58 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 13,593 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• AVISE · Hydro · 126.5 MW · Aosta Valley
• Champsec · Hydro · 8.7 MW · Valais
• Fionnay (Dixence) · Hydro · 306 MW · Valais
• Martigny-Bourg · Hydro · 22 MW · Valais
• Fionnay (Mauvoisin) · Hydro · 140 MW · Valais
• ROSONE · Hydro · 135 MW · Piedmont

Location

Coordinates 45.8249, 7.3255 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions