Sylvenstein Dam is an earthen embankment dam in the Isar valley, in the alpine part of Upper Bavaria, Germany which impounds the Sylvenstein Reservoir (German: Sylvensteinspeicher).
In the 1920s, several hydropower plants were built in the tributary of the upper Isar river such as ones at the Achensee and Lake Walchen Power Plant. Therefore, the river ran nearly dry during the dry season, and the low water flow affected the town of Bad Tölz. A reservoir was established to ensure a minimum level of water in the river. During the dry season a volumetric flow of 4 cubic metres per second is released to prevent the Isar from running dry. Additionally, the reservoir provides flood control for Isar river between Bad Tölz and Munich.
The dam is 44 metres (144ft) high and 180 metres (590ft) long. It was built between 1954 and 1959. Since 1959, the water has also been used to operate a hydropower plant of 3.2 MW. The plant was upgraded in 2000 with new turbines to generate 3.8 MW.
During the 2005 European floods, the maximum capacity of the reservoir was reached. Consequently, excess water was released into the Isar river. Without the dam construction, the flooding in 2005 would have been even more severe than it actually was.
Hydropower, also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the kinetic energy of water into electrical or mechanical energy. Hydropower is a form of green energy production.
The Isar is a river in Tyrol, Austria and Bavaria, Germany, which is not navigable for watercraft above raft size. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching the Danube near Deggendorf. At 295 km (183 mi) in length, it is the fourth largest river in Bavaria, after the Danube, Inn, and Main. It is Germany's second most important tributary of the Danube after the Inn.
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to increase by about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.
Ghaghara, also called Karnali is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. It cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form the Ghaghara River, a major left bank tributary of the Ganges. With a length of 507 kilometres (315 mi) it is the longest river in Nepal. The total length of Ghaghara River up to its confluence with the Ganges at Revelganj in Bihar is 1,080 kilometres (670 mi). It is the largest tributary of the Ganges by volume and the second longest tributary of the Ganges by length after Yamuna.
The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam on the Kafue River in west-central Zambia was built between 1974 and 1977 at the Itezhi-Tezhi Gap, in a range of hills through which the river had eroded a narrow valley, leading to the broad expanse of the wetlands known as the Kafue Flats. The town of Itezhi-Tezhi is to the east side of the dam.
A reservoir is most commonly an enlarged natural or artificial lake created using a dam to store water.
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage. A plant without pondage is subject to seasonal river flows, thus the plant will operate as an intermittent energy source. Conventional hydro uses reservoirs, which regulate water for flood control, dispatchable electrical power, and the provision of fresh water for agriculture.
The Ranapratap Sagar Dam is a gravity masonry dam of 53.8 metres (177 ft) height built on the Chambal River at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in India. It is part of integrated scheme of a cascade development of the river involving four projects starting with the Gandhi Sagar Dam in the upstream reach in Madhya Pradesh and the Jawahar Sagar Dam on the downstream with a terminal structure of the Kota Barrage in Rajasthan for irrigation.
Lake Qaraoun is an artificial lake or reservoir located in the southern region of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. It was created near Qaraoun village in 1959 by building a 61-metre-high (200 ft) concrete-faced rockfill dam in the middle reaches of the Litani River. The reservoir has been used for hydropower generation, domestic water supply, and for irrigation of 27,500 hectares.
The Xiluodu Dam is an arch dam on the Jinsha River, i.e. the upper course of the Yangtze in China. It is located near the town of Xiluodu in Yongshan County of Yunnan Province but the dam straddles into Leibo County of Sichuan Province on the opposite side of the river. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and its power station has an installed capacity of 13,860 MW. Additionally, the dam provides for flood control, silt control and its regulated water releases are intended to improve navigation downstream. Construction on the dam and power station began in 2005 and the first generator was commissioned in 2013, the last in 2014. It is operated by China Yangtze Power and is currently the third-largest power station with the fourth-tallest dam in the world.
The Yeywa Hydropower Station, located on the Myitnge River, 52 kilometres (32 mi) southeast of Mandalay city, at Yeywa village in Kyaukse Township, Mandalay Region in central Myanmar, is the country's first roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam, and the site of a 790-megawatt (1,060,000 hp) hydroelectric power plant, the largest in the country.
Rangit Dam, which forms the headworks of the Rangit Hydroelectric Power Project Stage III, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Ranjit River, a major tributary of the Tista River in the South Sikkim district of the Northeastern Indian state of Sikkim. The project's construction was completed in 1999. The project is fully functional since 2000. The project was built at a cost of Rs 4922.6 million. The average annual power generation from the 60 MW project is 340 GWh with firm power of 39 MW.
The Kannagawa Hydropower Plant (神流川発電所) is an under construction pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant near Minamiaiki in Nagano Prefecture and Ueno in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. The power plant utilizes the Minamiaiki River along with an upper and lower reservoir created by two dams, the upper Minamiaiki Dam and the lower Ueno Dam. The power station in between the two dams will contain six 470 megawatts (630,000 hp) pump-generators for a total installed capacity of 2,820 megawatts (3,780,000 hp). Unit 1 commenced commercial operation in 2005 and Unit 2 in 2012. When completed, the plant will have the second-largest pumped-storage power capacity in the world.
The Upper Wardha Dam is an earthfill straight gravity dam across the Wardha River, a tributary of the Godavari River, near Simbhora village in Morshi taluk in Amravati district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The dam provides multipurpose benefits of irrigation, drinking water supply, flood control and hydropower generation.
Idamalayar Dam is a multipurpose concrete gravity dam located at Ennakal, Ernakulam . near Bhoothathankettu, on the Idamalayar River, a tributary of the Periyar River in Kerala, South India. Completed in 1985, with a length of 373 metres (1,224 ft), the dam created a multipurpose reservoir covering 28.3 km2 (10.9 sq mi) in the scenic hills of the Western Ghats.
The Kölnbrein Dam is an arch dam in the Hohe Tauern range within Carinthia, Austria. It was constructed between 1971 and 1979 and at 200 metres (660 ft) high, it is the tallest dam in Austria. The dam's reservoir serves as the primary storage in a three-stage pumped-storage power system that consists of nine dams, four hydroelectric power plants and a series of pipeline and penstocks. The complex is owned by Verbund power company and is referred to as the Malta-Reisseck Power Plant Group. The installed capacity of the group is 1,028.5 MW and its annual generation is 1,216 gigawatt-hours (4,380 TJ).
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam, is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia under construction since 2011. The dam is in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, about 45 km (28 mi) east of the border with Sudan.
Lake Cachi is an artificial lake in central Costa Rica created by the Cachí Dam, an arch dam north of Tapantí National Park, to the east-southeast of Cartago in Cartago Province. The main town is Cachí, away from the east bank of the lake. Built in the 1970s, it was one of the first hydroelectric projects in Costa Rica. It has an installed capacity of 102 MW with three units of 34 MW capacity each.
The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
The Vorotan Cascade, or the ContourGlobal™ Hydro Cascade, is a cascade on the Vorotan River in Syunik Province, Armenia. It was built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. The Vorotan Cascade consists of three hydroelectric power plants and five reservoirs with a combined installed capacity of 404.2 MW. It is one of the main power generation complexes in Armenia.
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