The is a large

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 ...

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 in Toyone, Kitashitara,

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. With an installed capacity of , the plant is one of the largest pumped-storage power stations in Japan. The facilities are run by

Electric Power Development Company The , operating under the brand name J-POWER, formerly , is an electric utility in Japan. It mainly produces electricity from coal and hydroelectric power stations. It also has a few wind farms and is currently building a nuclear plant in Ohma, ...

(J-Power). Like most pumped-storage facilities, the power station uses two reservoirs, releasing and pumping as the demand rises and falls. Midori lake, formed by the Shintoyone Dam, is the upper artificial reservoir, while

Sakuma Dam The is a dam on the Tenryū River, located on the border of Toyone, Kitashitara District, Aichi Prefecture on the island of Honshū, Japan. It is one of the tallest dams in Japan and supports a 350 MW hydroelectric power station. Nearby a fr ...

forms the lower reservoir. Shintoyone Dam is a 116.5 m-tall

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengtheni ...

, while Sakuma Dam is a 155.5 m-tall concrete

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 ...

. Sakuma Dam was built between 1953 and 1956 to provide water to the Sakuma conventional hydroelectric power plant. Shintoyone Dam was completed later in 1973 to act as the upper reservoir of the Shintoyone Pumped storage plant. The plant employs five 225 MW pump/generator units, for a total net capacity of 1125 MW. The maximum water flow is 645 cubic meters per second and the effective head is 203 m. The intake elevation is at 474 m over sea level, while the discharge elevation is 260 m over sea level. Construction of the plant started in November 1969 and became operational between November 1972 and October 1973. Sakuma Dam on the lower reservoir also provides water for the and the two conventional hydroelectric power plants. Construction of the first plant started in 1953 and became operational in 1956. The plant employs four 96 MW Francis turbines, for a total capacity of 350 MW. The second plant became operational in 1982. It employs two Kaplan turbines with a combined capacity of 32 MW. The plant uses the residual water drop from the first plant to Tenryū river downstream.

Notes

{{Dams in Aichi Prefecture Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in Japan Energy infrastructure completed in 1972 1972 establishments in Japan

See also

Notes