Location Chinautla (Guatemala) Height 17 m Impound Las Vacas River | Impounds Las Vacas River Construction began 1998 | |
Official name Planta Hidroeléctrica Río Las Vacas (HRLV) Opening date May 2002
May 2003 - second fase Operator(s) Hidroelectrica Rio Las Vacas, S.A Similar Xacbal Dam, Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam, Cerrón Grande Dam, Mixco Viejo, La Aurora Zoo | ||
The Las Vacas Dam (Spanish: Planta Hidroeléctrica Río Las Vacas) is a reinforced concrete gravity dam and power plant spanning the Las Vacas River near the village of San Antonio Las Flores in the municipality Chinautla, Guatemala.
Map of Las Vacas Dam, San Antonio Las Flores, Guatemala
The hydroelectric power plant is designed as a peaking plant and the water stored in its 258,969 m³ reservoir is used to generate electricity during hours of peak demand. It has 5 Pelton turbines with a total installed capacity of 45 MWe which generate an average of 120 GWh of electricity per year.
The plant includes facilities for collecting and recycling plastic waste material found in the reservoir.
The Las Vacas project was built by a conglomerate of 4 private sector companies: Cementos Progreso, Fabrigas, Comegsa, and Iberdrola, which are partners in Hidroeléctrica Río Las Vacas, S.A.