The Chicoasén Dam (officially known as
Manuel Moreno Torres) is an
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 an ...
and
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 an ...
power station on the
Grijalva River near
Chicoasén in
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. The dam's power plant, officially named for Manuel Moreno Torres, contains 5 x 300
MW, 3 x 310 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 proc ...
-generators. Torres was
Comisión Federal de Electricidad
The Comisión Federal de Electricidad ( en, Federal Electricity Commission) is the state-owned electric utility of Mexico, widely known as CFE. It is the country's dominant electric company, and the country's second most powerful state-owned comp ...
's (the dam's owner) Director General in the later 1950s. The original generators were first operational in 1980 while the 310 MW units were ordered in 2000 and operational by 2005. Since then, the hydroelectric power station is the largest in Mexico. The dam was designed in the early 1970s and constructed between 1974 and 1980 under topographical and geological constraints. It is an earth and rock fill embankment type with a height of
and length of . It withholds a reservoir of
and lies at the head of a
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 ...
.
It is the
tallest dam in North America.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicoasen Dam
Dams in Mexico
Hydroelectric power stations in Mexico
Embankment dams
Dams completed in 1980
Dams on the Grijalva River