Almendra Dam

Dam

41°16′7.83″N 6°19′13.43″W / 41.2688417°N 6.3203972°W / 41.2688417; -6.3203972Construction began1963Opening date1970Dam and spillwaysType of damArch with buttress sectionImpoundsRiver TormesHeight202 m (663 ft)Length567 m (1,860 ft)Dam volume2,186,000 m³ (2,859,180 cu yd)Spillways2Spillway capacity3,039 m³/s (107,321 cu ft/s)ReservoirTotal capacity2,500,000,000 m³ (2,026,783 acre⋅ft)Catchment area7,100 km² (2,741 sq mi)^[1]Surface area86.5 km² (33.4 sq mi)Villarino Power StationCoordinates41°15′42.69″N 6°29′36.38″W / 41.2618583°N 6.4934389°W / 41.2618583; -6.4934389Operator(s)IberdrolaCommission date1970-1977TypeConventional, diversionTurbines6 x 135 MW Francis-typeInstalled capacity810 MW

The Almendra Dam, also known as Villarino Dam, in Salamanca, Spain, interrupts the course of the River Tormes five kilometres from the village from which it takes its name: Almendra (literally, almond). It was constructed between 1963 and 1970.

The arch dam forms part of the hydroelectric system known as the Saltos del Duero (in English "the Duero Drops"), along with the Castro, Ricobayo, Saucelle and Villalcampo dams of Spain, and the Bemposta, Miranda and Picote Dams of nearby Portugal.

The reservoir that backs up behind the dam covers 86.5 square kilometres and contains 2.5 billion cubic metres of water as well as several drowned villages, among them Argusinos. The dam is more than half a kilometre wide and, at a height of 202 metres, one of Spain's tallest structures.

The dam supplies the Villarino Power Station with water via a tunnel for hydroelectric power generation. It is located underground about 14 km (8.7 mi) west of the dam. Water discharged from the power station enters the Douro River. The power station has an installed capacity of 810 MW and was completed in 1977.^[2]

Gallery

References

^ "Almendra Dam" (in Spanish). Spanish Society of Dams and Reservoirs. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
^ "Conventional Hydroelectric Plants in Spain - Castilla y Leon". IndustCards. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

Estado del Embalse de Almendra (State of the Almendra Reservoir) (in Spanish).
Estado de los embalses de la cuenca del Duero (State of the reservoirs in the Duero Basin) (in Spanish).
Evolución de las presas en España, El caso de "Los Saltos del Duero" (Evolution of the dams of Spain: the case of "the Duero Drops") (in Spanish).
Sociedad Española de Presas y Embalses (Spanish Society of Dams and Reservoirs) (in Spanish).