The Fierza Hydroelectric Power Station ( al, Hidrocentrali i Fierzës) is a large hydroelectric power station on the

Drin River The Drin (; sq, Drin or ; mk, Дрим, Drim ) is a river in Southern and Southeastern Europe with two distributaries one discharging into the Adriatic Sea and the other one into the Buna River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, ...

, in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. Fierza is the upper HPP (Hydro Power Plant) of the Drin River cascade. Based on the installed power capacity, position and the volume of the reservoir, Fierza plays a key role for the exploitation, regulation and safe operation of Drin cascade. Work for its construction began in 1970. The first power unit became operational in 1978 and the plant was fully operational in 1980. Fierza HPP was built with equipment mostly from China but on the concepts of Albanian engineers. Around 14,000 workers, engineers and specialist were involved in the construction of the plant. Fierza is a HPP with a

Rock-fill dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

with a clay core and reservoir. When it was built, Fierza was the second in Europe for the height of its type. The dam has a total volume of 8 million m3. This

rock-fill dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

measures in height, and in length along the crest. Construction began in 1971 and was completed seven years later in 1978. The dam is one of the three hydroelectric dams on the Drin River. The reservoir was filled with water between 1978 and 1981. The four units installed in the plant have "Francis" vertical turbines with 125 MW power each; 3-Phase synchronous generators of 13.8kV voltage; and lifting transformers 13.8kV/242 kV for the connection with the transmissio
substation
The annual output of Fierza HPP averages in 1,330 GWh, that represent approximately 33% of Drin cascade production. The importance of Fierza, beside energy production, relates on the capacity of its lake which regulates the annual inflows and increase the efficient use of the Drin cascade.

References

{{Hydroelectric power stations in Albania Hydroelectric power stations in Albania Dams completed in 1979 Buildings and structures in Kukës County

See also

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