The Gilgel Gibe I Dam is a rock-filled

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

on the

Gilgel Gibe River Gilgel Gibe River (with ''Gilgel'' meaning ''Little'') is a major tributary of the larger Gibe River in southwest Ethiopia in western Oromia Region. It flows in an arc through the south of the Jimma Zone, defining part of the Zone's boundary with ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It is located about northeast of

Jimma Jimma () is the largest city in southwestern Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is a special zone of the Oromia Region and is surrounded by Jimma Zone. It has a latitude and longitude of . Prior to the 2007 census, Jimma was reorganized administrative ...

Oromia Region Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

. The primary purpose of the dam is

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power production. The Gilgel Gibe I hydroelectric powerplant has an installed capacity of 184 MW, enough to power over 123,200 households. The dam is long and tall. Construction on the dam began in 1988 but work was halted in 1994. In 1995 construction restarted with a new construction firm. The power station was commissioned in 2004. Water from the dam is diverted through a long tunnel to an

underground power station An underground power station is a type of hydroelectric power station constructed by excavating the major components (e.g. machine hall, penstocks, and tailrace) from rock, rather than the more common surface-based construction methods. One or mor ...

downstream. The waters after power generation are discharged back into the Gilgel Gibe River to flow downstream northwards for roughly 2 km only to enter a long tunnel through a mountain ridge to an

( Gilgel Gibe II Power Station) at the lower-lying

Omo River The Omo River (also called Omo-Bottego) in southern Ethiopia is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and it empties into Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. The ...

References

Gilgel Gibe I The Gilgel Gibe I Dam is a rock-filled embankment dam on the Gilgel Gibe River in Ethiopia. It is located about northeast of Jimma in Oromia Region. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production. The Gilgel Gibe I hydroelectr ...

Reservoirs in Ethiopia Hydroelectric power stations in Ethiopia Omo River (Ethiopia) Dams completed in 2004 2004 establishments in Ethiopia Rock-filled dams Oromia Region Underground power stations Energy infrastructure completed in 2004 {{Africa-dam-stub