Bolarque Dam () is a

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

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where the river forms the border between the provinces of

Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

and

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

. About 6 km downstream from the dam is the

José Cabrera Nuclear Power Station The José Cabrera Nuclear Power Station (also known as Zorita) was a nuclear power station in Almonacid de Zorita, east of Madrid, Spain. The power plant consisted of one single-loop pressurized water reactor, PWR of 160 MWe, built by Zachr ...

. Work on the dam began in 1907. In 1908 more than 1300 workers were employed at the construction site. The dam was officially inaugurated on June 23, 1910 by king

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

. It is owned by

Unión Fenosa ''Unión Fenosa, S.A.'' was, until its acquisition by '' Gas Natural'' in 2009, a large Spanish company dedicated to the production and distribution of gas and electricity. It installed capacity of 11,120 megawatts of power and 8.9 million custo ...

Dam

Bolarque Dam is a 36 m tall (height above foundation) and 292 m long gravity dam with a crest altitude of 643 m. The volume of the dam is 160,000 m³. The dam features a

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 ...

over the dam (maximum discharge 1,700 m³/s) and one bottom outlet (maximum discharge 70 m³/s). The initial height of the dam was 24 m; it was raised to 36 m in 1954.

Reservoir

At full reservoir level, the reservoir of the dam has a surface area of 5.1 km² and a total capacity of 30.7 mio. m³; its active capacity is 23 mio. m³.

Power plant

Bolarque I

The original

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 went operational in 1910. The generated power at that time was evacuated to Madrid. In 1954 the plant was closed and replaced with the actual power plant. It has a

nameplate capacity Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, maximum effect or gross capacity, MW and contains 2

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 ...

-generators with 14 MW each. The maximum

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 42 m. Maximum flow is 85 m³/s.

Bolarque II

The

pumped-storage Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. A PSH system stores energy in the form of gravitational potent ...

power plant was built between 1969 and 1974. It went on line in 1973. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 203 (208) MW. According to this source, the nameplate capacity is 208 MW when pumping and 239 MW when generating energy. The power station contains 4 reversible

-generators with 52 MW each. The maximum

is 269.5 (245) m. Maximum flow is 98.8 (99) m³/s when generating energy and 66 m³/s when pumping. Bolarque II is the starting point of the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer. 2

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 ...

s (length 1.025 m, diameter 3.15 to 3.45 m) link the pumped-storage power plant with the reservoir of Bujeda dam, which is used as an upper reservoir. From Bujeda reservoir water is then transferred to the reservoir of Alarcón dam.

Bolarque III

In 2010 an additional power plant with a nameplate capacity of 4.2 MW was opened.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolarque Dam Dams in Spain Hydroelectric power stations in Spain Gravity dams Dams completed in 1910 Energy infrastructure completed in 1910 1910 establishments in Spain Buildings and structures in the Province of Cuenca Buildings and structures in the Province of Guadalajara Energy in Castilla–La Mancha

Dam