The Pichi Picún Leufú Dam (in Spanish ''Embalse Pichi Picún Leufú'') is the third of five

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 ...

s on the

Limay River The Limay River is an important river in the northwestern Argentine Patagonia (the region of Comahue). It originates at the eastern end of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and flows in a meandering path for about , collecting the waters of several tributa ...

in northwestern

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

(the

Comahue Comahue is a sub-region of Argentina slightly to the south of the country's centre that covers the northern part of Argentine Patagonia and includes the provinces of Argentina, provinces of Neuquén Province, Neuquén and Río Negro Province, Rí ...

region), near the town of Piedra del Águila. The dam is used for the generation of

hydroelectricity 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 ...

and for the regulation of the flow. It measures in height and in length, and is made of of loose materials. It was built by the Sweden-based multinational

Skanska Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. It was established in 1887 as a concrete product manufacturer. History Aktiebolaget Skånska Cementgjuteriet (Scanian Cement Casting Ltd) was established i ...

, and inaugurated in 2000. The

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

has an area of and a volume of in maximum normal conditions. The hydroelectric plant has an installed power of and generates an annual average of . It employs three vertical-axis

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 ...

References

* Secretaría de Energía. República Argentina
Embalse Pichi Picún Leufú
*

* Skanska LA

External links

Dams completed in 2000 Energy infrastructure completed in 2000 Dams in Argentina Hydroelectric power stations in Argentina Buildings and structures in Neuquén Province Buildings and structures in Río Negro Province Dams on the Limay River {{dam-stub