Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant is a

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 plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

on river Krka, located in

Šibenik-Knin County Šibenik-Knin County (; hr, Šibensko-kninska županija ) is a county in southern Croatia, located in the north-central part of Dalmatia. The biggest city in the county is Šibenik, which also serves as county seat. Other notable towns in the co ...

, in central

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. The first European hydroelectric power plant was built in Croatia (many people worked together to make this possible). It was put into operation two days after, according to Nikola Tesla's patents, the world's first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls was put into operation. A turbine, two generators (42 Hz, 550 kW) and a transformer made by the Hungarian company Ganz were built under the Skradinski Buk waterfall. The Jaruga is one of the oldest power-generating facilities in the world. Its present location dates back to 1903, when it was moved from the nearby original Jaruga power station built in 1895.

History

The oldest Jaruga power plant was the first

alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...

(AC) power system in Croatia. It was designed to power the

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

s in

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

, making it the first city in the world with street lights powered by a

polyphase system A polyphase system is a means of distributing alternating-current (AC) electrical power where the power transfer is constant during each electrical cycle. AC phase refers to the phase offset value (in degrees) between AC in multiple conducting ...

(AC). In 1893, Šibenik mayor Ante Šupuk and Vjekoslav Meichsner started a business and obtained a license to use the waters of river Krka, and in 1894 they obtained permission to set up electrical power lines on municipal property in order to start lighting the streets with electric power. The construction of Jaruga started in 1894 and lasted for 16 months. The two generators (42 Hz, 550 kW each) and the

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s were produced and installed by the Hungarian company

Ganz The Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and th ...

. The transmission line from the power plant to the city of

was long on wooden towers, and the municipal distribution grid 3000V/110 V included six

transformer station A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and ...

s. The original Jaruga system supplied 340 street lights and some electrified houses in Šibenik.

Croatian Post Croatian may refer to: *Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , ...

printed a stamp commemorating this power plant in 1995. The Croatian national electricity company HEP lists the same event and date as its origin and marks the date. Three years after the first Jaruga was built, the construction of the second Jaruga hydro power plant began, the current location. It was completed in 1903 when its capacity was 6 MW. Since its construction, the current Jaruga has been refurbished in 1916, 1937, 1970, 1995 and 2008, but the basic concept of the plant had been maintained. In 1936 a second generator was installed that increased the capacity to 5,6 MW.

Catchment and capacity

The Krka River rises under the travertine barrier of the Topolje waterfall near the town of

Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...

. Total length of the Krka River, from its

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

to its end in the

Adriatic sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

near

Skradin Skradin ( it, Scardona; grc, Σκάρδων) is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, with a population of 3,825 (2011 census). It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and ...

is 56 km. Total Krka

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

is 2427 km², of which 142 km² is included in the Krka National park. Along its course, the Krka receives a number of important

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

. Some major among them are Krčić, Kosovčica, Orašnica, Butišnica, Miljacka,

Čikola Čikola ( it, link=no, Cigola) is a river of 47.8 km in length, located in Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Description Čikola river's springs is near the village Čavoglave, flows through the city of Drniš and then flows near village of M ...

, Goduča and Rivina Jaruga. The Jaruga power plant is the last one of five hydro power plants in the Krka

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

, from its spring to the sea. It uses the gross head of about 26 m, which is a portion of the naturally concentrated head of about 45 m at the

Skradinski buk Krka National Park ( hr, Nacionalni park Krka) is one of the Croatian national parks, named after the river Krka (ancient Greek: ''Kyrikos'') that it encloses. It is located along the middle-lower course of the Krka River in central Dalmatia, ...

waterfall. Visovačko jezero (lake) is upstream the waterfall and the Krka and

Prokljansko jezero Lake Prokljan ( hr, Prokljansko jezero) is a lake in the Croatian region of Dalmatia, located near the cities of Skradin and Šibenik. Geography The lake is situated in the lower reaches of the river Krka, and it covers an area of . It is n ...

(lake), affected by the sea backwaters, downstream. This is a typical run-off-the-river plant of diversion type, with no possibility of water regulation. Total

installed capacity Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, or maximum effect, is the intended full-load sustained output of a facility such as a power station,

is 5.4 MW and average annual output 35 GWh. It is a minor power plant concerning both capacity and annual output. Also the most important use is to power or give energy to the park.

The Krka River catchment hydroelectric power plants

* Golubić Hydroelectric Power Plant * Small Krčić Hydroelectric Power Plant *

Miljacka Hydroelectric Power Plant Miljacka Hydroelectric Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant on the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, located in Šibenik-Knin County, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. The Miljacka Hydroelectric Power Plant, formerly called Manojlovac, is a relativ ...

* Roški Slap Hydroelectric Power Plant *Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant

References

External links

* http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/history_center/conferences/che2007/prog_comm.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20110719133609/http://www.croatia.ch/zanimljivosti/070812.php {{Hydroelectric power stations in Croatia Hydroelectric power stations in Croatia Buildings and structures in Šibenik-Knin County Energy infrastructure completed in 1895

History

Catchment and capacity

The Krka River catchment hydroelectric power plants

See also

References

External links