Alto Lindoso Dam

Alto Lindoso Dam (Portuguese:Barragem do Alto Lindoso) is a concrete double curvature arch dam on the Lima River. It is located in the municipality Ponte da Barca, in Viana do Castelo District, Portugal. The dam lies in Peneda-Gerês National Park close to the border with Spain.

Construction of the dam began in 1983. The dam was completed in 1992. It is owned by Companhia Portuguesa de Produção de Electricidade (CPPE). The dam is used for power production.

Dam

Alto Lindoso Dam is a 110 m tall (height above foundation) and 297 m long double curvature arch dam with a crest altitude of 339 m. The width at the base is 21 m (crest 4 m). The volume of the dam is 308,500 m³. The dam contains 2 shaft spillways with 3 gates each (combined maximum discharge 2,760 m³/s) and 2 bottom outlets (combined maximum discharge 400 m³/s).

Reservoir

At full reservoir level of 338 m (maximum flood level of 339 m) the reservoir of the dam has a surface area of 1.05 (10.72) km² and ist total capacity is 379.01 mio. m³. Ist active capacity is 347.91 (270) mio. m³. Minimum operating level is 280 m. With the 347.9 mio. m³ water 224.6 GWh can be produced.

Power plant

The pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant went operational in 1992. It is owned by CPPE, but operated by EDP. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 630 (634) MW. Ist average annual generation is 933.8 (909.6, 910 or 948) GWh.

The power station contains 2 Francis turbine-generators with 317 MW (350 MVA) each in an underground powerhouse 340 m below the surface. The turbine rotation is 214.3 rpm. The minimum hydraulic head is 227 m, the maximum 288 m. Maximum flow per turbine is 125 m³/s.

As lower reservoir for Alto Lindoso the reservoir of Touvedo dam is used, which is connected via a tailrace tunnel with a length of 4,883 m.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Alto Lindoso Dam" and modified on July 23, 2019 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.