El Chocón Dam Explained

El Chocón Dam
Name Official:Embalse Ezequiel Ramos Mexía
Dam Crosses:Limay River
Location:Villa El Chocon, Argentina
Dam Length:2500m (8,200feet)
Dam Height:940NaN0
Opening:1973
Owner:Hidronor
Res Name:El Chocón Reservoir
Res Capacity Total:20.155km3
Res Surface:8160NaN0
Plant Turbines:6 × 210 MW
Plant Capacity:1,260 MW
Plant Annual Gen:2,700 GWh
Coordinates:-39.2658°N -68.7564°W

The El Chocón Dam (Spanish; Castilian: Represa El Chocón Cerros Colorados) is the fourth of the five dams on the Limay River in the northwestern Argentine Patagonia (the Comahue region), at above mean sea level. El Chocón Cerros Colorados is on the Limay River at about 80km (50miles) upstream of its confluence with the Neuquén River.

El Chocón Cerros Colorados is used to regulate the flow of the Limay River, for irrigation, and for the generation of hydroelectricity. Its power station is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Patagonia, with a capacity of . It was built by the state-owned company Hidronor (Hidroeléctrica Norpatagónica). It started operating in 1973 and achieved full capacity in 1978. In the period 1974–1995, it produced an annual average of . In 1993 it was privatized, with an exploitation concession granted to Hidroeléctrica El Chocón S. A.

While the formal name of the project is Embalse Ezequiel Ramos Mexía, in common use it ended up acquiring the name of the settlement that served as the construction's base of operations, Villa El Chocón (a small town, population 957, as of 2001).

El Chocón is part of a larger engineering scheme that also includes the Cerros Colorados Complex, on the Neuquén River. The Hydroelectric Complex which holds El Chocón and Arroyito Hydroelectric Power Plants, is located in the region known as Comahue, which is formed by the Argentine provinces of Río Negro and Neuquén and the southern area of the Buenos Aires and La Pampa provinces.

Technical details

The dam is made of earth, with a concrete spillway. About of materials were used. It measures in length. Its maximum height over the river bed is .

The reservoir has a maximum area of 8600NaN0, a mean depth of (maximum), and a maximum volume of . It is used for sailing, sport fishing and other forms of recreation by locals and tourists.

The power plant has six vertical Francis turbines, with a nominal power of each, which rotate at . The apparent powers are for each generator and for each transformer.

Material: Hidroeléctrica El Chocón S.A.

See also

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