Construction began 2006 | Status Under construction Opening date 2016 est. | |
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Official name Manuel Piar Hydroelectric Power Plant Type of dam Composite, rock-fill/gravity | ||
The Manuel Piar Hydroelectric Power Plant (Tocoma Dam) is under construction and it is the last hydroelectric development project in the Lower Caroní River Basin of Venezuela. The project includes the installation of 2,320 megawatts (3,110,000 hp) MW to generate an annual average energy of 12,100 gigawatt-hours (44,000 TJ). Ten Kaplan generator units, of 230 megawatts (310,000 hp), manufactured by Argentinian company IMPSA, were predicted to begin operations between 2012 and 2014. The first generator was installed but not yet commissioned in April 2012. Behind scheduled, the dam began to impound its reservoir on 16 November 2015. These units had the world record as of 2012 in power generation at nominal head for Kaplan turbines. The diameter of the runner is 8.6 metres (28 ft) and nominal head is 34.65 metres (113.7 ft) with claimed output up to 232 megawatts (311,000 hp).