Inguri Dam
| Inguri Dam | |
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| Location | Jvari, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 42°45′36″N 42°01′48″E / 42.76°N 42.03°ECoordinates: 42°45′36″N 42°01′48″E / 42.76°N 42.03°E |
| Construction began | 1961 |
| Opening date | 1987 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Arch dam |
| Height | 272 m (892 ft) |
| Impounds | Inguri River |
| Power station | |
| Turbines | 20 × 66MW |
| Installed capacity | 1,320 MW |
| Annual generation | 3.8 TWh |
The Inguri Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Inguri River in Georgia. Currently it is the world's highest concrete arch dam with a height of 272 metres (892 ft).[1][2][3] It is located north of the town Jvari. It is part of the Inguri hydroelectric power station (HES) which is partially located in the partially recognised Abkhazia.
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[edit] History
Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev initially proposed a major dam and hydroelectric power scheme on the Bzyb River as his favourite resort was located near the mouth of the river at Pitsunda. However, his experts informed him that a dam built on the Bzyb River would have had catastrophic effects in causing beach erosion at Pitsunda, so in the end the dam was built on the Inguri River instead, where the impact upon the coastline was assessed to be considerably less pronounced.[4]
Construction of the Inguri dam began in 1961. The dam became temporarily operational in 1978, and was completed in 1987. In 1994, the dam was inspected by engineers of Hydro-Québec, who found that the dam was "in a rare state of dilapidation".[5] In 1999, the European Commission granted €9.4 million to Georgia for urgent repairs at the EInguri HES, including replacing the stoplog at the arch dam on the Georgian side and, refurbishing one of the five generators of the power station at the Abkhaz side.[6] In total, €116 million loans were granted by the EBRD, the European Union, the Japanese Government, KfW and Government of Georgia.[1] In 2011 The European Investment Bank (EIB) loaned €20 million in order to complete the rehabilitation of the Enguri hydropower plant and to ensure safe water evacuation towards the Black Sea at the Vardnili hydropower cascade.[7]
[edit] Technical features
The Inguri hydroelectric power station (HES) is a cascade of hydroelectric facilities including, in addition to the dam - diversion installation of the Inguri HES proper, the near-dam installation of the Perepad HES-1 and three similar channel installations of the Perepad HESs-2, -3, and -4 located on the tailrace emptying into the Black Sea.[8] While the arch dam is located on the Georgian controlled territory in Upper Svanetia, the power station is located in the Gal district of Abkhazia.[6] Inguri HES has 20 turbines with a nominal capacity of 66 MW each,[9] resulting in a total capacity of 1,320 MW. Its average annual capacity is 3.8 billion kW/h, which is approximately 46% of the total electricity supply in Georgia as of 2007.[10]
[edit] Operation
The dam located on the Georgian side is maintained by Georgian company Enguri Ltd.[1] The power plant located on Abkhazian side is operated by state-owned Abkhazian company Chernomorenergo. According to the agreement between Georgia and Abkhazia, Georgia receives 60% of produced electricity, while 40% is consumed in Abkhazia and in Southern part of Russia.[11] In September 2008, the President of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, announced that Abkhazia will revise this deal while foreign minister Sergey Shamba said that Abkhazia is not calling for any revision of the power distribution balance at the moment.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Inguri Dam |
- ^ a b c "Enguri Hydro power Plant Rehabilitation project. Project summary document". European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. 2006-09-08. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20080527202746/http://www.ebrd.com/projects/psd/psd1998/4304.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ "Inguri Dam". Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9042423/Inguri-Dam. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
- ^ "China's Xiaowan hydroelectric power station succeeds". Xinhua. 2008-10-28. http://www.karen.org/news2/messages/244.html. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Joachim Blatter, Helen M. Ingram (2001). Reflections on water: new approaches to transboundary conflicts and cooperation. MIT Press. pp. 221–2. ISBN 026202487. http://books.google.com/?id=Lb-66oPHwGIC&pg=PA221&dq=bzyb+river#v=onepage&q=bzyb%20river&f=false.
- ^ Manana Kochladze, Rezo Getiashvili, (2007) (PDF). The Khudoni dam: a necessary solution to the Georgian energy crisis?. CEE Bankwatch Network. http://bankwatch.org/documents/khudoni_dam_study.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ a b (DOC) Brief overview of EC Rehabilitation projects of the Enguri Hydro-Power Plant – Georgia/Abkhazia. European Commission Delegation to Gergia and Armenia. 2006-10-20. http://www.delgeo.ec.europa.eu/en/programmes/Overview%20EC%20projects%20Enguri%20Hydropower%20plant.doc. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ Hydropower in Georgia receives boost from EIB (ENPI Info Centre)
- ^ Georgia 2008 Daily Chronology, globalsecurity.org
- ^ Inguri Hydro Power Plant
- ^ http://www.minenergy.gov.ge/index.php?m=349 Ministry of Energy of Georgia
- ^ a b Lili Khmaladze (2008-09-26). "Georgians have no rights whatsoever to the Inguri hydro-energy power plant" (PDF). Georgi News Digest (Rezonansi). http://www.hgb-leipzig.de/~hempel/bfot/_GND/_2008/Georgia%20News%20Digest%2010-14-08.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-09.[dead link]
