Mequinenza Dam ( es, Presa de Mequinenza, links=no) is a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

gravity dam in the province of

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It impounds the

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

creating a large reservoir, which is called ''Mar de Aragón''. About 35 km downstream of Mequinenza dam is Ribarroja dam. ''Empresa Nacional Hidroeléctrica del Ribagorzana S.A.'' ( ENHER) was mandated in 1955 by ''

Instituto Nacional de Industria Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI, National Institute of Industry) was a Spanish state-owned financing and industrial holding company established in Francoist Spain for the development of industry and social control. It was succeeded by the So ...

(INI)'' to build two dams on the Ebro near

Mequinenza Mequinenza (Aragonese and ) or Mequinensa () is a town and municipality of the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is located beside the river Segre, close to its confluence with the river Ebro between the Mequi ...

and Ribarroja. Work on Mequinenza dam started in 1957. The filling of the reservoir began in December 1965. The power plant was operational in 1964 (1966). ENHER was acquired by

Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

in 1999.

Dam

Mequinenza Dam is a 79 m tall (height above foundation) and 461 m long gravity dam with a crest altitude of 124 m. The volume of the dam is 1,100,000 m³. The dam features a

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

with 6 gates over the dam (maximum discharge 11,000 m³/s) and one bottom outlet (maximum discharge 160 m³/s).

Reservoir

At full reservoir level of 121 m.a.s.l. the reservoir has a surface area of 75.4 km², a total capacity of 1.53 billion m³ and a length of almost 110 km. The average width of the reservoir is about 600 m, its maximum (average) depth is 62 (20) m.

Power plant

The power plant contains 4 Francis turbine-generators. The initial nameplate capacity was 81 MW each. The turbines, generators and transformers were refurbished from 2007 until 2010 raising the capacity of the new machines to 96 MW each. Maximum flow is 150 m³/s per turbine.

External links

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mequinenza Dam Dams in Spain Hydroelectric power stations in Spain Gravity dams Dams completed in 1964 Energy infrastructure completed in 1964 1964 establishments in Spain Buildings and structures in the Province of Zaragoza

Dam

Reservoir

Power plant

See also

External links

References