Hydro power plant in Quiche, Guatemala. Approximate location 15.62, -91.085.
HydroQuicheGuatemalarun-of-river
Xacbal is a 97 MW hydro power plant in Quiche, Guatemala. It is operated by Grupo Terra SA de CV [100%]. Based on reported annual generation of 370 GWh, it can supply roughly 106k homes. It ranks #10 of 77 Guatemala power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2010, it is around 16 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 39.9% of Guatemala's electricity; the national grid averages 301 gCO₂/kWh (68.3% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1061413.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
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 L100000601775); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 97 MW, Xacbal is well above the median hydro plant in Guatemala (13 MW). Technically it is described as run-of-river. 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.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Grupo Terra SA de CV [100%].
This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 15.6°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 88% 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: 18/100 — 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.
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 mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
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.
The #2 largest hydro power plant of 30 in Guatemala by capacity.
Guatemala has 30 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 1,003 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 15.62, -91.085 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Xacbal is a 97 MW source-record hydro power plant in Quiche, Guatemala, commissioned in 2010.
Xacbal generates about 370 GWh of electricity per year.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 105,685 homes.
Xacbal is operated by Grupo Terra SA de CV [100%].
