concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...
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. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...
on the
Douro
The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish Soria Province, province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern par ...
. It is located in the municipality
Vila Nova de Gaia
Vila Nova de Gaia (; ), or simply Gaia, is a city and a municipality in Porto District in Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region, Portugal. It is located south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper had a populati ...
, in
Porto District
The Districts of Portugal, District of Porto ( ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro (district), Aveiro and Viseu (distric ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
.
Construction of the dam began in 1976. The dam was completed in 1985. It is owned by ''Companhia Portuguesa de Produção de Electricidade'' (CPPE).
Dam
Crestuma–Lever Dam is a 25.5 m tall (height above foundation) and 470 m long gravity dam with a crest altitude of 25.5 m. The volume of the dam is 205,000 m³. The
spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...
with 8 gates is part of the dam body (maximum discharge 26,000 m³/s).
Reservoir
At full reservoir level of 13 m (maximum flood level of 21.5 m) the reservoir of the dam has a surface area of 12.98 km2 and a total capacity of 110 mio. m³. The active capacity is 22.5 (16 or 19) mio. m³.
Power plant
The
run-of-the-river
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...
hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power plant was commissioned in 1985 (1986). It is operated by EDP. The plant has a
nameplate capacity
Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, maximum effect or gross capacity, (105 or 108) MW. Its average annual generation is 360 (311, 363, 366.9, or 399) GWh.
The power station contains 3
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 a ...
-generators (horizontal axis) with 39 (36) MW (36.1 MVA) each in a dam powerhouse located on the left side of the dam. The turbine rotation is 83.3 rpm. The minimum
hydraulic head
Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a measurement related to liquid pressure (normalized by specific weight) and the liquid elevation above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22, eq.3.2a.
It is usually meas ...
is 6.8 m, the maximum 12.6 m. Maximum flow per turbine is 450 m³/s.
The turbines and generators were provided by
Sorefame
Sorefame (an abbreviation of ''Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas'', meaning ''"Reunited Society of Metalwork Fabrications")'' was a Portugal, Portuguese manufacturer of railway rolling stock and industrial equipment, such as dam gat ...
.
Lock
On the left side of the dam is a
lock
Lock(s) or Locked may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainme ...
, which can handle ships with the following maximum properties: 83 m in length, 11.40 m on the beam, 3.8 m load-draught and a cargo capacity of 2500 tons.