Carrapatelo 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

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 ...

, where the river forms the borderline between the districts of

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the Viseu District, district of the same name, with a population of 100,105 inhabitants in the entire municipality, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões Interm ...

. It is located in the municipalities of

Marco de Canaveses Marco de Canaveses () is a city and municipality on Porto district, in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 53,450, in an area of 201.89 km2. The city itself had a population of 9,042 in 2001. Geography The city of Marco Canaveses i ...

, in Porto District, and

Cinfães Cinfães () is a village and a municipality in the northern district of Viseu, Portugal. The village proper has about 3,300 inhabitants. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 20,427,

Dam

Carrapatelo Dam is a 57 m tall (height above foundation) and 400 m long gravity dam with a crest altitude of 55 m. The volume of the dam is 190,000 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 ...

is part of the dam body (maximum discharge 22,000 m³/s). There is also a bottom outlet.

Reservoir

At full reservoir level of 46.5 m the reservoir of the dam has a surface area of 9.52 km² and its total capacity is 148.4 mio. m³. The active capacity is 9 (15,6 or 16) 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 went operational in 1971. It is owned by CPPE, but 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, (180) MW. Its average annual generation is 806.1 (783, 870.6 or 882)

GWh A kilowatt-hour ( unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a non-SI unit of energy equal to 3.6 megajoules (MJ) in SI units, which is the energy delivered by one kilowatt of power for one hour. Kilowatt-hours are a commo ...

. 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 with 63.4 MW each in a dam powerhouse. The turbine rotation is 115.4 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 20 m, the maximum 37 m. Maximum flow per turbine is 290 m³/s. The first 2 machines went operational in 1971, the third in 1972. The turbines were provided by

Kværner Kværner was a Norwegian engineering and construction services company that existed between 1853 and 2005. During its initial decades, the firm was involved in the manufacture of cast iron stoves and hydroelectric turbines. The turbine busi ...

, the generators by

Brown, Boveri & Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Baden bei Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oer ...

Lock

On the right 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. The water level change through the lock is about 35 m.

References

{{Douro dams Dams in Portugal Hydroelectric power stations in Portugal Gravity dams Dams completed in 1972 Energy infrastructure completed in 1972 1972 establishments in Portugal Buildings and structures in Porto District Dams on the Douro River Locks of Portugal Run-of-the-river power stations

Dam

Reservoir

Power plant

Lock

See also

References