Vilyuy Dam
The Vilyuy Dam is a large dam and hydroelectric power station on the Vilyuy River in Chernyshevsky, Sakha Republic, Russia. The dam was built between 1964 and 1967 to provide power for diamond mines in the area. It is located in the southern part of the Vilyuy Plateau and was the first such major structure in the world to be built on permafrost. Vilyuy is reported to have the coldest operating conditions of any hydroelectric plant in the world.
The dam is an embankment structure high and long, containing of fill. Its power station has four turbines with a combined capacity of 650 MW, generating 2,710 million KWh annually. Behind the dam, the Vilyuy Reservoir started filling in 1969 and topped out in 1973. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world, with a length of and holding up to of water.
The large artificial lake formed by the dam has caused the winter temperature of the Vilyuy River to increase by, and has greatly reduced flooding on the lower part of the river, leading to declines in bird and fish populations. The filling of the reservoir also displaced about 600 people.
