Guri Dam

Guri Dam
Location of Guri Dam in Venezuela
Official name	Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar
Location	Necuima Canyon, Bolívar
Coordinates	07°45′52″N 63°00′00″W / 7.76444°N 63.00000°W / 7.76444; -63.00000Coordinates: 07°45′52″N 63°00′00″W / 7.76444°N 63.00000°W / 7.76444; -63.00000
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 × 730 MW 4 × 180 MW 3 × 400 MW 3 × 225 MW 1 × 340 MW
Installed capacity	10,235 MW
Annual generation	47,000 GWh

Francis Turbines.

The Guri Dam is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Venezuela on the Caroni River built from 1963 to 1969. It is 7,426 metres long and 162 m high. It impounds the large Guri Reservoir (Embalse de Guri). with a surface area of 4,250 square kilometres (1,641 sq mi)

In 1963, construction began for the hydroelectric power station Guri in the Necuima Canyon, about 100 kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Caroní River in the Orinoco. By 1969, a 106 m high and 690 m long dam with the official name of Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar (previously named Central Hidroeléctrica Raúl Leoni from 1978 to 2000) had been built. It created a reservoir which is the largest fresh water body of water in Venezuela and the eleventh largest man-made lake in the world with its water level at 215 metres above sea level. The power station had a combined installed capacity of 1750 megawatts (MW). By 1978, the capacity had been upgraded to 2065 MW, generated by ten turbines.

Because the electricity demand grew so fast, 1976 saw the beginning of a second building stage: a 1300 m long gravity dam was built, another spillway channel and a second powerhouse containing 10 turbines of 630 MW each. The powerhouse´s inside walls were decorated by the Venezuelan kinetic artist Carlos Cruz-Díez. This increased the dam's dimensions to 162 m in height and to 7426 m (according to other sources 11,409 m) in crest length. The water level rose to 272 m and the reservoir grew in size and volume to a capacity of 138 billion cubic m for flood storage or floodwater evacuation. The structure was inaugurated on 8 November 1986.

The total projected hydroelectric capacity is 10,300 megawatts, one of the largest in the world.

Since 2000, there is an ongoing refurbishment project to extend the operation of Guri Power Plant by 30 years. This project is to create 5 new runners and main components on Powerhouse II, and close to the end of 2007 is starting the rehabilitation of four units on Powerhouse I.