The Pichi Picún Leufú Dam (in Spanish ''Embalse Pichi Picún Leufú'') is the third of five dams on the

Limay River The Limay River is an important river in the northwestern Argentine Patagonia (the region of Comahue). It originates at the eastern end of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and flows in a meandering path for about , collecting the waters of several tributari ...

in northwestern

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

(the

Comahue Comahue is a sub-region of Argentina slightly to the south of the country's centre that covers the northern part of Argentine Patagonia and includes the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro. Some also include La Pampa Province and the Patagone ...

region), near the town of Piedra del Águila. The dam is used for the generation of

hydroelectricity 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 ...

and for the regulation of the flow. It measures in height and in length, and is made of of loose materials. It was built by the Sweden-based multinational

Skanska Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. Skanska is the fifth-largest construction company in the world according to ''Construction Global'' magazine. Notable Skanska projects include renovation of t ...

, and inaugurated in 2000. The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

has an area of and a volume of in maximum normal conditions. The hydroelectric plant has an installed power of and generates an annual average of . It employs three vertical-axis

Kaplan turbine The Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine which has adjustable blades. It was developed in 1913 by Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan, who combined automatically adjusted propeller blades with automatically adjusted wicket gates to ach ...

References

* Secretaría de Energía. República Argentina
Embalse Pichi Picún Leufú
*

* Skanska LA

External links

Dams completed in 2000 Energy infrastructure completed in 2000 Dams in Argentina Hydroelectric power stations in Argentina Buildings and structures in Neuquén Province Buildings and structures in Río Negro Province Dams on the Limay River {{dam-stub