Vidraru Dam

Vidraru Dam
The Vidraru dam
Location Argeş River, Argeş County
Romania
Coordinates 45°21′58.5″N 24°37′47.28″E / 45.366250°N 24.6298000°E / 45.366250; 24.6298000Coordinates: 45°21′58.5″N 24°37′47.28″E / 45.366250°N 24.6298000°E / 45.366250; 24.6298000
Construction began 1960
Opening date 1966
Dam and spillways
Impounds Argeş River
Height 166 m (545 ft)
Length 305 m (1,001 ft)[1]
Dam volume 480,000 m3 (630,000 cu yd)
Reservoir
Creates Lake Vidraru
Total capacity 0.465 km3 (0.112 cu mi)
Catchment area 286 km2 (110 sq mi)
Surface area 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi)
Power Station
Commission date 9 December 1966
Turbines 4 x 55 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity 220 MW
Annual generation 400 GWh

Vidraru Dam is a dam in Romania. It was completed in 1966 on the Argeş River and creates Lake Vidraru. The arch dam was built with the primary purpose to produce hydroelectricity. The dam's height is 166 metres, the arch length 305 meters and it can store 465 million cubic metres of water. The reservoir has a total shoreline (perimeter) length of 28 km.

Background

Prometheus statue near the dam

Situated between Frunţii Mountains and Ghiţu mountains, the lake collects the Capra, Buda and some other smaller rivers (Râul Doamnei, Cernatu and Vâlsan, Topolog, Valea lui Stan and Limpedea), with a total flow of about 5.5 million l /s. The total surface of the lake is 3,930,000 sq m, 10.3 km in length, with a maximum width of 2.2 km in the Valea Lupului zone - Călugăriţa. Normal level or water retention is 830.00 metres above sea level (mdM).

The dam's construction took 5 and a half years. It required 42 km of subterranean tunnels, excavation of 1,768,000 cubic metres of hard rocks, out of which approximatively 1 million had to be extracted from underground, 930,000 cubic metres of concrete, out of which 400,000 cubic metres were underground and required the installation of 6,300 tons of electro-mechanical equipment.

When completed, it ranked 5th in Europe, and 9th in the world. In an average hydrological year it can generate approximately of 400 GWh/year.

The Vidraru Hydro Power Plant has an installed capacity of 220 MW.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Specifications
Panorama of the Vidraru Lake and Dam
Panorama of the Vidraru Lake and Dam from 2012-07-01
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.