Salime reservoir
The Salime Reservoir ( Spanish: Embalse de Salime ) is a reservoir of the River Navia in the west of Asturias, which partly forms the border with the Galician province of Lugo. It was inaugurated in 1954 and has a storage space of 265.60 hm3.
Arbon and Doiras Salime is the third dam on the Río Navia. The dam is a gravity dam with a height of 128 m. The reservoir covers an area of 685 hectares, the plant is mainly used for power generation.
History
The project was initiated by Saltos del Navia de Comunidad, a society founded in 1945 to equally amongst the undertakings Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico, SA and Electra de Viesgo, S. A. belonged. Financial support offered Banco Urquijo, which also worked out the project and the technical studies.
As an architect Joaquín Vaquero Palacios was hired, who planned the project in the years after the Second World War. 1946 began the preparatory work, 1948-1953, the dam and the power plant were built, the inauguration took place in 1954. During some time Salime was the largest dam in Spain and the second largest in Europe. It is regarded as one of the first projects of the Gigantismo the Franco era was the model for many similar projects stood.
For the construction of enormous difficulties had to be overcome: Spain's economy languished and also suffered from the economic embargo of the victorious powers of World War II. The project seemed almost impossible and only a best effort you could be the shortages Lord. The turbines supplied England secretly, bypassing the UN embargo against Franco.
The preparatory and related measures had an extraordinary extent: There tunnels were built to divert the river, sheet piles, warehouses, roads, inclined planes, cement mills, a 36 km -long cable car for transporting cement clinker from the port of Navia etc. 3500 workers from other Spanish regions - mainly Andalucia - were recruited. For them and their families, several workers' housing estates were created. The food supply of the workers was a problem in those years of scarcity. About 100 workers lost their lives in accidents at work during the dam construction. The building is remarkable especially in the light of these difficulties.
Hydropower plant Salime
The hydroelectric power plant (central hidroeléctrica ) Salime located below the dam. It has four generator groups with 32 megawatts that were taken 1953-1956 in operation. The total capacity is 128 MW, average for the year, the power plant produces 350 gigawatts. The employed Francis turbines have a throughput of 152 m² / s, the energy generated is dissipated via 132- kilovolt network.