The Saucelle Dam is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...

on the

Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

. It is located about west of

Saucelle Saucelle is a municipality located in the Salamanca (province), province of Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain. As od 2016 the municipality has a population of 308 inhabitants. References

Municipalities in the Province of Salamanca {{S ...

in the

province of Salamanca Salamanca () is a province of western Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León (Castilla y León). It is bordered by the provinces of Zamora, Valladolid, Ávila, and Cáceres, and on the west by Portugal. It has ...

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

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 ...

. The dam straddles the border of Spain and Portugal but is owned and operated by Spain's

Iberdrola Iberdrola () is a Spanish multinational electric utility company based in Bilbao, Spain. Iberdrola has a workforce of around 34,000 employees serving around 31.67 million customers. Subsidiaries include Scottish Power (United Kingdom) ...

. Construction on the dam began in 1950 and was completed in 1956. 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 and it has an installed capacity of 520 MW. The power is produced by two power stations, both located just downstream. Saucelle I was commissioned in 1956 and contains four 62.5 MW

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 for an installed capacity of 251 MW. Saucelle II is located underground and was commissioned in 1985. It contains two 134.5 MW Francis turbine-generators for an installed capacity of 269 MW.

References

{{Douro dams Dams in Spain Dams on the Douro River Dams completed in 1956 Hydroelectric power stations in Spain Energy infrastructure completed in 1956 Energy infrastructure completed in 1985 Gravity dams Underground power stations Buildings and structures in the Province of Salamanca Energy in Castile and León

See also

References