The Marèges Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Dordogne River. It is located 4 km (2 mi) southeast of Liginiac in Corrèze department, France. It was constructed between 1932 and 1935 by the Railway Company du Midi. Its primary purpose is the generation of hydroelectricity and the original power station contained four Francis turbine-generators.
| Marèges Dam | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location of Marèges Dam in France | |
| Official name | Barrage de Marèges |
| Country | France |
| Location | Liginiac |
| Coordinates | 45°23′30″N 2°21′51″E / 45.39167°N 2.36417°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1932 |
| Opening date | 1935 |
| Owner(s) | Société Hydroélectrique du Midi (SHEM) |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete arch, double-curvature |
| Height | 89.5 m (294 ft) |
| Length | 198 m (650 ft) |
| Elevation at crest | 408 m (1,339 ft) |
| Width (crest) | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Width (base) | 19 m (62 ft) |
| Dam volume | 185,000 m3 (241,971 cu yd) |
| Reservoir | |
| Total capacity | 47,000,000 m3 (38,104 acre⋅ft)[1] |
| Catchment area | 2,540 km2 (981 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 1.2 km2 (297 acres)[2] |
| Power Station | |
| Commission date | 1935/1988 |
| Turbines | 4 x 37.5 MW Francis-type, 1 x 122 MW Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 272 MW[3] |
| Annual generation | 338 GWh[4] |
The dam and its power plant was built to help France become less dependent on costly energy resource imports after World War I.[5] The fifth Francis turbine-generator, rated at 122 MW, at the Saint Pierre power station, on the left bank of the river, was commissioned in 1988.[6]
The dam, designed by André Coyne, incorporated several innovative features to include a ski-jump spillway, the right abutment anchored with a prestressed cables and monitored with vibrating wire sensors (emitting an audible signals like a guitar), and a new cofferdam design.[5]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Marèges Dam". Structurae. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ "Mareges" (in French). Comité Francais des Barrages et Réservoirs. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ "Marèges Dam". Industry About. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ "Dams Dordogne" (in French). Dams of the Dordogne. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Marèges (1935)". Planete-TP. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ "Mareges Group" (in French). SHEM. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
External links
edit
Media related to Barrage de Marèges at Wikimedia Commons
