Ghatghar Dam refers to two associated
gravity dams built using
roller-compacted concrete, the first use in India. They are situated in Ghatghar village in
Ahmednagar district
Ahmednagar district (Marathi pronunciation: ™É¦(É™)mÉ™d̪nəɡəɾ is the largest district of Maharashtra state in western India. The historical Ahmednagar city is the headquarters of the district. Ahmednagar and Sangamner are largest cities in ...
Maharashtra,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. Both dams create a lower and upper reservoir for the 250 MW
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. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...
hydroelectric power station. The upper Ghatghar dam is tall and on the
Pravara River
Pravara is the smallest of the major tributaries of Godavari river located in Maharashtra, India. Among the 7 major tributaries, it is the only tributary which originates in the Western Ghats akin to Godavari. Also, it is the only major tributa ...
, a tributary of
Godavari river. The lower Ghatghar dam is tall and located on the
Shahi Nalla which is a tributary of
Ulhas River
The Ulhas River is a river in Maharashtra, India. It is in the Thane, Raigad, and Pune districts of that state. It flows north and west from it source to where it splits into Vasai Creek and Thane Creek, near Thane. The Ulhas divides Salsett ...
to the south west of the upper reservoir in a steep valley. The hydro power project diverts Godavari river basin water outside the basin area to a west flowing river of
Western ghats.
The power station is located between both the upper and lower reservoirs. During peak electricity demand hours, water from the upper reservoir turns two 125 MW reversible
Francis turbine-generators. When energy demand is low, such as at night, the turbines reverse direction and pump water from the lower reservoir back to the upper. Construction on the project began in 1995, the dams were placed beginning in 2001 and were complete by 2006. The power station was commissioned in 2008.
Power Plant
The dam's power plant has an installed capacity of 250 MW.
See also
Middle Vaitarna Dam
References
Hydroelectric power stations in Maharashtra
Dams in Ahmednagar district
Dams completed in 2006
Energy infrastructure completed in 2008
Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in India
Gravity dams
Roller-compacted concrete dams
2006 establishments in Maharashtra
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