W H Hill

Oil power plant in Hawaii, United States of America. Approximate location 19.7041, -155.0607.

OilHawaiiUnited States of AmericaCO₂ modelled

W H Hill is a 37 MW oil power plant in Hawaii, United States of America. It is operated by Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc. Based on reported annual generation of 172 GWh, it can supply roughly 49k homes. It ranks #4094 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1971, it is around 55 years old — an older, legacy facility. Its modelled annual emissions are 24,367 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 5.7k cars driven for a year. In context, oil supplies about 0.7% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

37Source-backed capacity
172GWh reported / yr
49,228homes powered
24,367t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1971commissioned (~55 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0000772.

Data status

Known data

FacilityW H Hill WRI
CountryUnited States of America · Hawaii WRI
Coordinates19.7041, -155.0607 WRI
FuelOil WRI
MW installed capacity37 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerHawaii Electric Light Co Inc WRI
Commissioned1971 WRI
GWh reported / yr172 GWh/yr WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions24,367 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#4094 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#136 of 902 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers5.15× · 7 MW median · 902 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent49,228 calculated from reported generation
Climate22.8°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 44/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

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: Wikidata P2109 nameplate capacity; fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 37 MW, W H Hill is well above the median oil plant in United States of America (7 MW). Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

~24,367 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

5.7kpassenger cars driven for a year
3.2khomes' yearly energy use
406ktree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Reported generation trend

2013: 0 GWh20132014: 0 GWh20142015: 0 GWh20152016: 0 GWh20162017: 0 GWh20172018: 0 GWh20182019: 172 GWh2019172 GWh

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

Owner

Operated by Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc.

Local climate & thermal context

This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 19.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

22.8°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
1,740cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
89 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 22 °CJF: 22 °CFM: 22 °CMA: 22 °CAM: 22 °CMJ: 23 °CJJ: 24 °CJA: 24 °CAS: 24 °CSO: 24 °CON: 23 °CND: 22 °CD24 °C

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

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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
44/100environmental-severity index
2.6°Cseasonal temperature swing
33 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 #136 largest oil power plant of 902 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 902 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 40,022 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 19.7041, -155.0607 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is W H Hill?

W H Hill is a 37 MW source-record oil power plant in Hawaii, United States of America, commissioned in 1971.

How much electricity does W H Hill generate?

W H Hill generates about 172 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can W H Hill power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 49,228 homes.

Who operates W H Hill?

W H Hill is operated by Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc.

How much CO₂ does W H Hill emit?

W H Hill has modelled emissions of about 24,367 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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