Salto Santiago Hydroelectric Power Plant


The Salto Santiago Hydroelectric Power Plant is a dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Iguazu River near Santiago in Paraná, Brazil. It is the third dam upstream of the Iguazu Falls and was completed in 1979. The power station has a 1,420 MW capacity and is supplied with water by a rock-fill embankment dam.
It is owned and operated by Tractebel Energia.

Salto Santiago Dam

The Salto Santiago Dam is high, long and is of rock-fill embankment type, comprising in concrete structure. The dam's spillways contains nine wide and wide radial gates and has a maximum capacity of. The reservoir formed behind the dam contains of total storage with a surface area of and a catchment area of. The average flow of the river through the dam is and the reservoir has a normal operating level of.

Power plant

The power plant at the southern end of the dam contains four hydroelectric generators powered by Francis turbines. Each turbine has a rated discharge of and is fed by a diameter steel penstock which provides a gross hydraulic head of. The remaining two penstocks are intended for future generators with a plant expansion. The first generator was commissioned on December 31, 1980, with another in 1981, two in 1982 the last of which was commissioned on September 16, 1982.