Chicoasén Dam

The Chicoasén Dam (officially known as Manuel Moreno Torres) is an embankment dam and hydroelectric power station on the Grijalva River near Chicoasén in Chiapas, Mexico. The dam's power plant, officially named for Manuel Moreno Torres, contains 5 x 300 MW, 3 x 310 MW Francis turbine-generators. Torres was Comisión Federal de Electricidad's (the dam's owner) Director General in the later 1950s. The original generators were first operational in 1980 while the 310 MW units were ordered in 2000 and operational by 2005. Since then, the hydroelectric power station is the largest in Mexico.[1] The dam was designed in the early 1970s and constructed between 1974 and 1980 under topographical and geological constraints. It is an earth and rock fill embankment type with a height of 261 m (856 ft) and length of 485 m (1,591 ft).[2] It withholds a reservoir of 1,613,000,000 m³ (1,307,680 acre⋅ft) and lies at the head of a 52,600 km² (20,309 sq mi) catchment area.[3] It is the tallest dam in North America.

Chicoasén Dam
The Chicoasén Dam, view from the reservoir.
Location of Chicoasén Dam in Mexico
Official name	Presa Manuel Moreno Torres
Country	Mexico
Location	Chicoasén, Chiapas
Coordinates	16°56′30″N 93°06′02″W
Status	In use
Construction began	1974
Opening date	1980
Owner(s)	Comisión Federal de Electricidad
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Grijalva River
Height	261 m (856 ft)
Length	485 m (1,591 ft)
Reservoir
Creates	Chicoasén Reservoir
Total capacity	1,613,000,000 m3 (1,307,680 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	52,600 km2 (20,309 sq mi)
Power Station
Commission date	1980-2005
Turbines	5 x 300 MW, 3 x 310 MW Francis turbines
Installed capacity	2,430 MW