The Kiambere Hydroelectric Power Station is an earth-filled

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 ...

on the Tana River near Kiambere, Kenya. It straddles the border of

Embu Embu may refer to: Places ; in Brazil * Embu das Artes * Embu-Guaçu ; in Kenya * Embu, Kenya * Embu County Other

*Embu people of Kenya *Embu language, the Bantu language spoken by them {{Disamb, geo ...

and Kitui Counties in the former Eastern Province. The primary purpose of the dam is

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 generation and it supports a 165 MW power station. Construction on the dam began in 1983 and it was completed in 1987. The power station was commissioned in 1988. Beginning in 2008 both turbine-generators were upgraded from 72 MW to 82.5 MW. They were commissioned in 2009. US$95 million in funding for the original project was provided by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. The power station is operated by the

Kenya Electricity Generating Company Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...

and is part of the Seven Forks Scheme. The tall dam withholds a reservoir with the assistance of another earth-fill

saddle 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 ...

to the northwest. Water from an intake on the saddle dam travels through a headrace tunnel to the power station which is located underground. It contains two 82.5 MW

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. Water released from the power station is returned to the Tana via a long tailrace tunnel. The difference in elevation between the reservoir and power station affords a

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 .

References

{{Tana River (Kenya) dams Energy infrastructure completed in 1988 Hydroelectric power stations in Kenya Dams on the Tana River (Kenya) Dams in Kenya Dams completed in 1988 Underground power stations Kitui County Embu County

See also

References