Argentina
Rio Grande Hydropower
Engineering for hydropower plant with earthfill dams
Argentina
Rio Grande Hydropower
The Rio Grande hydroelectric complex consists of two earthfill dams, of 104 and 50 m height respectively, which create two reservoirs.
From each of them start a penstock that arrives in the underground power house, ending with a bifurcation to feed 2 Francis units, for a total installed power capacity of 750 MW.
Downstream the power house, a vertical shaft for cables connects the energy generators with the external transformers yard. The first stretch of the tailrace tunnel, which in total is more than 5 km long, gathers the water in an oscillation chamber, equipped with a 62 m tall surge shaft.
Cordoba
ARGENTINA
Panedile Argentina S.A.I.C.F. e I., Società Italiana per Condotte d'Acqua S.p.A. - Rome
CLIENT
1973 – 1985
YEAR
Main Features
- IP = 750 MW, max gross head = 204 m, Qtot = 500 m³/s, Qp = 312 m³/s
- Main dam: zoned earth fill with impervious central core (H = 104 m, Crest L = 410 m, V = 3.6 Mm³)
- Saddle dam – zoned earth fill with impervious core (H = 50 m, Crest L = 1’475 m, V = 1.6 Mm³)
- Underground power house (L = 105 m, Width 25 m, H = 47 m, N° 4 Francis turbine/pump reversible units – 187.5 MW each)
- Surge shaft (H = 62 m, A = 1’012 m²)
- Tailrace tunnel – and headrace for storage pumping (L = 5’315 m, A = 200.60 m²)
- Access tunnel to underground power station (L = 1’800 m)
- Spillway (Q = 2’100 m³/s)
- Intake works and penstocks
