Hydroelectric power station
RÍO GRANDE
CÓRDOBA
The work comprises the construction of a main dam, a side dam and an underground power plant in Cerro Pelado as well as the provision, installation and commissioning of hydro-electromechanical equipment.
This is the largest electrical power pumping plant in South America and a major energy reserve for the national grid
PROJECT
Rio Grande Hydroelectric Complex with pumping station, Santa Rosa de Calamuchita, Cordoba Province.
CLIENT
Agua y Energía Eléctrica Sociedad del Estado
DESCRIPTION OF WORKS
The work comprises the construction of a main dam, a side dam and an underground power plant in Cerro Pelado as well as the provision, installation and commissioning of hydro-electromechanical equipment.
The main dam is 104 m high and has a crown of 410.50 m in length, while the side dam is 50 m high. The power plant was for an underground hydroelectric pumping station (one of a kind in South America), of mixed operation, installed capacity of 750 MW and an average annual generation of 977 GWh.
Twelve kilometers downstream from Cerro Pelado, a lower reservoir dam was built rising 44 m above the river bed. Two regulatory reservoirs were built: an annual one in Cerro Pelado of 371 hm3 in capacity and 1, 241 ha surface area, and a weekly compensation reservoir in Arroyo Corto, with 30.8 hm3 capacity and 357 ha water surface area. The works, among other benefits, made it possible to control flooding and regulate the ebb and flow of the Rio Grande, ensuring a 10% increase in generation output of other power plants along the Rio Tercero, as well as the ability to supply drinking water to 350,000 people and irrigate 6,700 hectares.
