The Salto Osório Hydroelectric Power Plant is a

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, aqua ...

and

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 A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

on the

Iguazu River The Iguazu River ( , ), also called Rio Iguassu, (from the Guaraní ''í Guazú'', literally "Big Water") is a river in Brazil and Argentina. It is an important tributary of the Paraná River. The Iguazu River is long, with a drainage basin of ...

near Osório in

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is the second dam upstream of the

Iguazu Falls Iguazú Falls or Iguaçu Falls ( , ; ; Tupi: Y Ûasu "big water") are waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. Together, they make up the largest waterfall sys ...

and was completed in 1979. The power station has a 1,078 MW capacity and is supplied with water by a rock-fill

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 ...

. It is owned and operated by

Tractebel Energia ENGIE Brasil formerly Tractebel Energia is a major Brazilian utility company, headquartered in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina. It is one of the largest private electricity producers in Brazil. Its 11 plants, six of them hyd ...

Salto Osório Dam

The Salto Osório Dam is high, long and is of rock-fill embankment type. The dam has two

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 ...

s containing 9 wide and wide

radial gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for its inventor, the Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. Tainter, an employee of the lumber firm Knapp, ...

s and has a maximum capacity of . Each spillway is on the main structure and the northern spillway contains 4 floodgates with 5 located next to the power station. The reservoir formed behind the dam contains of live storage with a surface area of and a

catchment area A catchment area in human geography, 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 ...

of . The average flow of the river through the dam is and the normal operating level of the reservoir is above sea level.

Power plant

The power plant at the southern end of the dam contains six hydroelectric generators powered by

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 pro ...

s. Four of the turbines were manufactured by

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

and the other two turbines were manufactured by

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

. Each turbine has a rated discharge of and is fed by a diameter steel

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is of Scots origin, and was inherited from the earlier technology of mill pond ...

which provides a gross

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 ...

of . The first generator was commissioned on October 17, 1975, with another later that year, two in 1976, another in 1980 and the final June 21, 1981.

, the owners of the power plant began a refurbishment of the turbines in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salto Osorio Hydroelectric Power Plant Energy infrastructure completed in 1975 Energy infrastructure completed in 1980 Energy infrastructure completed in 1981 Hydroelectric power stations in Paraná (state) Dams in Paraná (state) Dams on the Iguazu River Rock-filled dams Dams completed in 1975

Salto Osório Dam

Power plant

See also

References