The Gitaru Hydroelectric Power Station, also known as the Gitaru Dam, is a rock and earth-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 Tana River in Kenya. It straddles the border between

Embu Embu may refer to: Places ; in Brazil * Embu das Artes * Embu-Guaçu ; in Kenya * Embu, Kenya * Embu County Other * Embu people of Kenya *Embu language Embu, also known as Kîembu, is a Bantu language of Kenya. It is spoken by the Embu peopl ...

and

Machakos Machakos, also called Masaku is a town in Kenya, southeast of Nairobi. It is the capital of the Machakos County, Kenya. Its population is rapidly growing and was 150,041 as of 2009 and Machakos County had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019 ...

Counties in the former Eastern Province. 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 generation, and it supports a 225 megawatt power station.

Location

The power station is located approximately , by road, east of the town of Mavuria in Embu County. This is approximately , by road, northeast of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya's capital city. The geographical coordinates of Gitaru Power Station are:00°47'43.0"S, 37°45'09.0"E (Latitude:-0.795278; Longitude:37.752500).

History

Construction of the dam began in 1975 and was completed in 1978. The third generating set, mobilizing the full potential of the power station was not commissioned until 1999. The

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

lent US$63 million towards the development of this power station. The station is operated by the

Kenya Electricity Generating Company Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...

and is part of the Seven Forks Scheme.

Overview

The tall dam withholds a reservoir. The relatively small reservoir relies on steady releases from the Masinga and Kamburu Dams upstream. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

power station is located underground near the left

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

. It contains two 72 megawatt and one 81 megawatt

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

-generators. Water released from the station is returned to the Tana at the Kindaruma Reservoir via a long tailrace tunnel. The difference in elevation between the reservoir and power station affords a net

hydraulic head Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22. It is usually measured as a liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, ...

of .

References

{{Tana River (Kenya) dams Energy infrastructure completed in 1999 Hydroelectric power stations in Kenya Dams on the Tana River (Kenya) Dams in Kenya Dams completed in 1978 Underground power stations Embankment dams Machakos County Embu County 1999 establishments in Kenya

Location

History

Overview

See also

References