Caruachi Dam

The Caruachi hydroelectric power plant, which bears the official name Central Hidroeléctrica Francisco de Miranda de Caruachi, stands on the Rio Caroní in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar. The plant is about 59 miles downstream of the dam and hydroelectric power plant of Guri (Central Hydroelectric Simón Bolívar ), and about 35 km upstream of the point where the Caroni flows near Ciudad Guayana in the Orinoco.

Power station

The first of the twelve 180 MW Kaplan turbines, which was supplied by General Electric, began commercial operation in April 2003; the 12th and final machine unit went into service on 28 February 2006. The power plant began full operations on 31 March 2006, when it was officially inaugurated by the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

The total installed capacity is 2160 MW, which produces the power plant an annual energy output of around 12,000 GWh. The head of water in the power plant during normal operation is 91 m.

This project forms a complex with the Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar in Guri, Antonio José de Sucre in Macagua and Tocoma ( under construction), along one of the largest hydroelectric complex in the world. The operator EDELCA ( Electrificación del Caroní CA ) says that the total complex of 750,000 barrels of oil can be saved in the day, compared to 300,000 currently.

Company

In the project, the companies were Kvaerner (Norway ), involved General Electric (USA) and VA Tech Elin Transformers ( Austria ). The main work began in 1998.

The company ABB built the power transmission lines. They consist of a 400 kV station and four 400 kV lines connecting the power plant to the grid.

Structures

The Hauptabsperrbauwerk is a 360 m long concrete gravity dam with a maximum height of 55 m, measured from the foundation bed. Integrated in this is an intake structure and the power house. On the right side is a 900 m up to 50 m high rockfill dam, which has a concrete slab as a seal attached. On the left is a high embankment of earth and rockfill material 4200 m long up to 45 meters.

The spillway has nine openings and circular caps with a total capacity of 30,000 m³ / s drainage capacity. The power house is 470 m long and integrated into the main building. 360 m of which claim the 12 generator units. A 50 m wide spacer between the powerhouse and the spillway is of type buttress dam.