| Governor José Richa Dam | |
| Name Official: | Governador José Richa Hydroelectric Plant |
| Dam Crosses: | Iguazu River |
| Location: | Caxias, Paraná, Brazil |
| Dam Type: | Gravity, roller-compacted concrete |
| Dam Length: | 1100m (3,600feet) |
| Dam Height: | 67m (220feet) |
| Spillway Type: | Service, controlled |
| Spillway Capacity: | 50000m3/s |
| Construction Began: | 1995 |
| Opening: | 1999 |
| Cost: | $1 billion USD |
| Owner: | Copel |
| Res Name: | Governor José Richa Reservoir |
| Res Surface: | 180km2 |
| Plant Type: | C |
| Plant Turbines: | 4 x 310MW Francis turbines |
| Plant Capacity: | 1240MW |
| Plant Annual Gen: | 5431GWh |
| Plant Commission: | 1999 |
| Location Map: | Brazil |
| Coordinates: | -25.5433°N -53.4967°W |
The Governor José Richa Hydroelectric Plant, formerly known as Salto Caxias, is a dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Iguazu River near Caxias in Paraná, Brazil. It is the first dam upstream of the Iguazu Falls and was constructed between 1995 and 1999.[1] [2] The power station has a 1240MW capacity and is supplied with water by a roller-compacted concrete gravity dam.
It is owned and operated by Copel who renamed it after José Richa, governor of Paraná between 1983 and 1986.[3]
The José Richa Dam is high, long and was built with roller-compacted concrete. It is the eighth largest of its type in the world. The dam's designer, Intertechne Consultores Associados, along with Copel decided on an RCC design as it would be 25% cheaper than an embankment dam. Cracks were noticed in the dam during inundation in 1998 and Copel announced a plan to repair them in 2005. The dam's spillway contains 14 16.5m (54.1feet) wide and high radial gates, and has a maximum capacity of . On the western portion of the dam, 15 sluice gates feed water from the reservoir into the power plant's intake channel.[4]
Water from the dam's intake channel is fed into the power station by means of four 11m (36feet) diameter and 107m (351feet) long carbon steel penstocks. The power station is long and contains four generators manufactured by Ansaldo Coemsa. Each generator is power by a vertical-shaft Francis turbine manufactured by Kvaerner.[4]
25% of the dam's $1 billion cost was involved in a resettlement program for the 1,000 families displace by the reservoir. The program included building community centers, roads, churches along with paying for healthcare, environmental protection and land provisions.[4]
