Bolarque Dam

Bolarque Dam (Spanish: Presa de Bolarque) is a concrete gravity dam on the Tagus in Spain, where the river forms the border between the provinces of Cuenca and Guadalajara. About 6 km downstream from the dam is the José Cabrera Nuclear Power Station.

Bolarque Dam
Bolarque Dam is located in Spain
Bolarque Dam
Location of Bolarque Dam in Spain
Official namePresa de Bolarque
LocationCuenca and Guadalajara, Spain
Coordinates40.362156°N 2.818685°W / 40.362156; -2.818685
PurposePower
StatusOperational
Opening date1910
Owner(s)Unión Fenosa
Operator(s)Unión Fenosa
Dam and spillways
Type of damConcrete gravity dam
ImpoundsTagus
Height (foundation)36 m (118 ft)
Length292 m (958 ft)
Elevation at crest643 m (2,110 ft)
Dam volume160,000 m3 (5,700,000 cu ft)
Spillway typeOver the dam
Spillway capacity1,700 m3/s (1.4 acre⋅ft/s)
Reservoir
Total capacity30,710,000 m3 (24,900 acre⋅ft)
Active capacity23,000,000 m3 (19,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface area5.1 km2 (2.0 sq mi)
Operator(s)Unión Fenosa
Commission dateBolarque I: 1910
Bolarque II: 1974
Bolarque III: 2010
Hydraulic headBolarque I: 42 m (138 ft) (max)
Bolarque II: 269.5 m (884 ft)
TurbinesBolarque I: 2 x 14 MW Francis-type
Bolarque II: 4 x 52 MW Francis-type
Installed capacityBolarque I: 28 MW
Bolarque II: 208 MW
Bolarque III: 4,2 MW

Work on the dam began in 1907. In 1908 more than 1300 workers were employed at the construction site. The dam was officially inaugurated on June 23, 1910 by king Alfonso XIII.[1] It is owned by Unión Fenosa.[2][3]

Dam

Bolarque Dam is a 36 m tall (height above foundation) and 292 m long gravity dam with a crest altitude of 643 m. The volume of the dam is 160,000 m³. The dam features a spillway over the dam (maximum discharge 1,700 m³/s) and one bottom outlet (maximum discharge 70 m³/s).[2] The initial height of the dam was 24 m; it was raised to 36 m in 1954.[4]

Reservoir

At full reservoir level, the reservoir of the dam has a surface area of 5.1 km² and a total capacity of 30.7 mio. m³; its active capacity is 23 mio. m³.[1]

Power plant

Bolarque I

The original hydroelectric power plant went operational in 1910. The generated power at that time was evacuated to Madrid.[5] In 1954 the plant was closed and replaced with the actual power plant.[1] It has a nameplate capacity of 28[1][6][7] MW and contains 2 Francis turbine-generators with 14 MW each.[3] The maximum hydraulic head is 42 m. Maximum flow is 85 m³/s.[7]

Bolarque II

The penstocks of Bolarque 2

The pumped-storage power plant was built between 1969 and 1974.[4] It went on line in 1973.[6] The plant has a nameplate capacity of 203[8] (208[1][6][7]) MW. According to this source,[9] the nameplate capacity is 208 MW when pumping and 239 MW when generating energy. The power station contains 4 reversible Francis turbine-generators with 52 MW each.[3] The maximum hydraulic head is 269.5[7] (245[8]) m. Maximum flow is 98.8[7] (99[8]) m³/s when generating energy and 66[8] m³/s when pumping.

Bolarque II is the starting point of the Tagus-Segura Water Transfer. 2 penstocks (length 1.025 m, diameter 3.15 to 3.45 m) link the pumped-storage power plant with the reservoir of Bujeda dam, which is used as an upper reservoir. From Bujeda reservoir water is then transferred to the reservoir of Alarcón dam.[8]

Bolarque III

In 2010 an additional power plant with a nameplate capacity of 4.2 MW was opened.[1]

See also

  • "Bolarque Dam". Wikimapia. Retrieved 2015-12-12.

References

  1. Pilar Hernández (26 July 2010). "Bolarque celebra su centenario con una nueva central hidráulica" (in Spanish). ABC. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  2. "PRESA: BOLARQUE" (in Spanish). SOCIEDAD ESPAÑOLA DE PRESAS Y EMBALSES (SEPREM). Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  3. "Pumped-Storage Plants in Portugal and Spain". Power Plants Around the World. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  4. Ignacio del Olmo (2002-09-01). "Historia de Bolarque" (in Spanish). alcarria.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  5. "La presa de Bolarque" (PDF) (in Spanish). Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  6. Cayetano Espejo Marín, Ramón García Marín. "AGUA Y ENERGÍA: PRODUCCIÓN HIDROELÉCTRICA EN ESPAÑA" (PDF) (in Spanish). Instituto Interuniversitario de Geografía, Universidad de Alicante. p. 23. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  7. "EL RECORRIDO DE LA ENERGÍA ITINERARIO ENERGÉTICO 5" (PDF) (in Spanish). Fundación de la Energía de la Comunidad de Madrid (Fenercom). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  8. "Tagus-Segura distribution canals". Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura. Archived from the original on 2017-08-27. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  9. "Centrales de Generación de Energía Eléctrica" (PDF) (in Spanish). Open Course Ware (OCW) - Universidad de Cantabria (UC). p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
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