The Vilyuy Dam (russian: Вилюйская ГЭС) is a large dam and

hydroelectric power 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 ...

station on the

Vilyuy River The Vilyuy ( rus, Вилю́й, p=vʲɪˈlʲʉj; sah, Бүлүү, ''Bülüü'', ) is a river in Russia, the longest tributary of the Lena. About long, it flows mostly within the Sakha Republic. Its basin covers about . History The river is fir ...

in Chernyshevsky, Sakha Republic,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The dam was built between 1964 and 1967 to provide power for diamond mines in the area. It is located in the southern part of the

Vilyuy Plateau The Vilyuy Plateau ( rus, Вилюйское плато) is a mountain plateau in Krasnoyarsk Krai and the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Siberia, Russia. It is a part of the Central Siberian Plateau and it is made up mainly of the upper course section ...

and was one of the first of such major structures in the world to be built on

permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

. Vilyuy is reported to have the coldest operating conditions of any hydroelectric plant in the world. The dam is an embankment structure high and long, containing of fill. Its power station has four turbines with a combined capacity of 650 MW, generating 2,710 million KWh annually. Behind the dam, the Vilyuy Reservoir started filling in 1969 and topped out in 1973. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, with a length of and holding up to of water. The large artificial lake formed by the dam has caused the winter temperature of the Vilyuy River to increase by , and has greatly reduced flooding on the lower part of the river, leading to declines in bird and fish populations. The filling of the reservoir also displaced about 600 people.

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* {{stack, {{Portal, Russia, Water, Renewable energy Dams in Russia Buildings and structures in the Sakha Republic Hydroelectric power stations built in the Soviet Union Hydroelectric power stations in Russia Dams completed in 1967

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