The Yaté Dam is an

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 ...

on the Yaté River in Yaté commune of

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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 68 MW power station. Plans for the project began in the early 1950s and the dam was designed by

Coyne et Bellier Coyne et Bellier is a global consulting and engineering firm based in Gennevilliers, France. They specialize in infrastructure projects such as dams, nuclear and hydroelectric power plants, roads, tunnels and other below-surface facilities. The co ...

. The owner and operator of the project, New Caledonian Society Energy (ENERCAL), was established on 27 August 1955 to implement the project. Construction began that year and the power station was commissioned in 1958. The dam and entire scheme was inaugurated by

Jacques Soustelle Jacques Soustelle (; 3 February 1912 – 6 August 1990) was an important and early figure of the Free French Forces, a politician who served in the French National Assembly and at one time served as Governor General of Algeria, an anthropologis ...

, then Minister of State in charge of Overseas Departments, on 21 September 1959. It is the tallest dam and creates the largest reservoir in New Caledonia. While the main retaining portion of the dam is an arch design, it also has a concrete

gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

section and an earthen and rock-fill section. The arch dam has a height of and length of . On its left side adjoins the gravity section which serves as a

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 ...

and is tall. It is long. The embankment section located direct the northwest of the gravity portion is long. Water from the dam is diverted through the hillsides via two long

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is of Scots origin, and was inherited from the earlier technology of mill pond ...

s to the power station downstream along the Yaté River in the town of Yaté. The difference in elevation between the dam 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 ...

(water drop) of . Within the power station lies four 17 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 ...

-generates which produce an average of 307 GWh annually.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yate Dam Dams in New Caledonia Dams completed in 1959 Arch dams Hydroelectric power stations in New Caledonia Energy infrastructure completed in 1958