Hydroelectric power station
Cabra Corral
SALTA
The General Manuel Belgrano dam and the Cabra Corral Hydropower Plant were built on the Juramento River, 85 km from the city of Salta.
Anecdotally, it is known as Cabra Corral because the American company in charge of undertaking the topographic surveys for the works put the titles «Cabra Corral» on their folders instead of «Corral de Cabras»
A hydroelectric complex for power generation and the irrigation of 100,000 hectares in Northwest Argentina
PROJECT
General Manuel Belgrano dam reservoir on the Juramento River and civil works at the Cabra Corral Hydroelectric power plant, Province of Salta.
CLIENT
Agua y Energía Eléctrica Sociedad del Estado
DESCRIPTION OF WORKS
Construction of main dam and side dam, spillway, diversion tunnel, irrigation outflow, generation intake and access and internal roads.
The works carried out helped to contain the waters of the Juramento River, regulating flow to allow the irrigation of 100,000 ha of arable land, mitigating floods and ensuring power generation.
There are two diversion and intake tunnels for irrigation and for the central power plant consisting of two galleries with a 6 m internal diameter lined with reinforced concrete and excavated into the rock on the right bank.
The main dam is an earth dam, of a heterogeneous and zonal type and a curve with a 450 m radius, while the crown is 100 m high with a development of 510 m.
The total capacity of the reservoir is of 3,135 hm3 at an elevation of 1,037 m, with a water surface area of 11,500 ha, one of the largest in Argentina. The spillway is of the channel type with a discharge weir and sluice gates.
Civil works at the Cabra Corral Hydroelectric plant. Running powerhouse, tailrace, barred tunnel, control room and cells, transformer station and complementary architecture.
The intake tower immersed in the lake provides the water necessary for the operation of the powerplant.The water passes to the turbines through a tunnel which is 545 m long and 6 m in diameter lined in concrete with a trifurcated steel pipe distributor. The three branches lead to ball valves at the entrance to each turbine.
The station is equipped with three Francis type turbines of 46,500 HP each with their corresponding synchronized generators of 40,000 kVA. The road bridge over the River Guachipas is 378 m long and is supported by columns which are 78 m high, linking National Route 9 with the access road to the General Manuel Belgrano dam.
