| Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant Guri Dam | |
|---|---|
 | |
.jpg)  Location of Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant Guri Dam in Venezuela | |
| Official name | Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar |
| Location | Necuima Canyon, Bolívar |
| Coordinates | 07°45′N 63°00′W / 7.750°N 63.000°W |
| Status | In use |
| Construction began | 1963 |
| Opening date | 1978 |
| Owner(s) | CVG Electrificación del Caroní, C.A. |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity/embankment |
| Impounds | Caroni River |
| Height | 162 m (531 ft) |
| Length | 7,426 m (24,364 ft) |
| Dam volume | Concrete: 6,026,000 m3 (212,806,182 cu ft) Earth: 23,801,000 m3 (840,524,383 cu ft) |
| Spillway type | Service, controlled crest overflow |
| Spillway capacity | 27,000 m3/s (953,496 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Guri Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 135,000,000,000 m3 (109,446,281 acre⋅ft) |
| Surface area | 4,250 km2 (1,641 sq mi) |
| Power Station | |
| Turbines | Francis Turbines.
10 × 725 MW 4 × 180 MW 3 × 400 MW 3 × 225 MW 1 × 340 MW[1][2] |
| Installed capacity | 10,235 MW |
| Annual generation | 47,000 GWh |
The Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant, also Guri Dam (Spanish: Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar or Represa de Guri), previously known as the Raúl Leoni Hydroelectric Plant, is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela, on the Caroni River, built from 1963 to 1969.[3] It is 7,426 metres long and 162 m high.[4] It impounds the large Guri Reservoir (Embalse de Guri)[5] with a surface area of 4,250 square kilometres (1,641 sq mi).[6]
The Guri Reservoir that supplies the dam is one of the largest on earth. The hydroelectric power station was once the largest worldwide in terms of installed capacity, replacing Grand Coulee HPP, but was surpassed by Brazil and Paraguay's Itaipu.[7]
- ^ "Guri Hydropower Station". VHPC. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ "Hydroelectric Plants in Venezuela". IndustCards. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- ^ "Guri Dam". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2011. Archived from the original on 28 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "Dams - Guri". Covenpre VENCOLD. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
- ^ Farrell, John (23 February 1969). "A Dam And Falls in Venezuela Jungle". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
- ^ World Environment Report. Center for International Environment Information. 1977.
- ^ NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. 1992.