Yacyretá Dam
The Yacyretá Dam or Jasyretâ-Apipé Hydroelectric Power Station (from Guaraní jasy retã, "land of the moon") is a dam and hydroelectric power plant built over the waterfalls of Jasyretâ-Apipé in the Paraná River, between the Paraguayan City of Ayolas and the Argentine Province of Corrientes. The dam is named for Yacyretá Island just upstream, much of which the dam submerged. The word "Yacyreta" is the Hispanicized spelling of the original Guaraní term Jasyretâ.
| Yacyretá Dam | |
|---|---|
View of the dam from down-river | |
Location of dam on Paraguay/Argentina Frontier | |
| Official name | Jasyretâ-Apipé Hydroelectric Power Station |
| Country | Paraguay/Argentina |
| Coordinates | 27°28′57.68″S 56°43′29.95″W |
| Status | In use |
| Construction began | 1983 |
| Opening date | 1994 |
| Construction cost | $15 billion |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Spillway type | Service, gate-controlled |
| Spillway capacity | 55,000 m3/s (1,900,000 cu ft/s) |
| Power Station | |
| Commission date | 1994–1998, 2011 |
| Hydraulic head | 22 m (72 ft) |
| Turbines | 20 × 155 MW (208,000 hp) Kaplan turbines |
| Installed capacity | 3,100 MW (4,200,000 hp) (final design) |
| Annual generation | 20.091 TWh (72.33 PJ) |
The dam is 808 metres (2,651 ft) long, and its installed equipment has a maximum power output of 3,100 megawatts (4,200,000 hp), with a record maximum annual power output of 20.091 TWh (72.33 PJ) achieved in year 2012, and a maximum water flow rate of 55,000 cubic meters per second. Until February 2011, its reservoir was seven meters below its planned water level, only allowing it to operate at 60% capacity.
The project generated controversy and criticism during its planning and construction because of the effects it had on local ecology, particularly the flooding of a unique environment causing the extinction in the wild of several species. The financial management of the project also garnered criticism, as it greatly exceeded its original budget, ultimately costing more than $11 billion.
In 2014 Paraguay consumed almost 5 percent of its share of Yacyreta's production, exporting the rest to Argentina.
The Yacyreta Dam is managed by the Yacyreta Bi-National Entity, established by treaty between the two countries.