The Cerros Colorados Complex is a group of dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

s and hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 generation facilities on the lower valley of the Neuquén River

Neuquén River

The Neuquén River is the second most important river of the province of Neuquén in the Argentine Patagonia, after the Limay River.The river is born at the northwest of the province at an altitude of 2,300 metres, to be feed by a number of streams through valleys of the lower Andes while advancing...

, in Neuquén

Neuquén Province

Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

.

Overview

The complex was started in 1969, and the first machine started functioning in 1978. The complex was officially inaugurated on 31 October 1980. In 1993 it was privatized by a concession grant to Hidroeléctrica Cerros Colorados S.A. In 2000, Duke Energy

Duke Energy

Duke Energy , headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is an energy company with assets in the United States, Canada and Latin America.-Overview:...

 acquired Cerros Colorados and the Alto Valle thermal power plant

Alto Valle thermal power plant

The Alto Valle Thermal Central is a thermal power station located in the city of Neuquén, Argentina . It employs natural gas and has an installed capacity of 97 MW...

.

Cerros Colorados is itself part of a larger engineering scheme, commonly known as the El Chocón-Cerros Colorados Complex, which includes the dam and hydroelectric plant of El Chocón

El Chocón Dam

The El Chocón Dam is the fourth of the five dams on the Limay River in the northwestern Argentine Patagonia , at , above mean sea level. El Chocón is on the Limay River at about upstream of its confluence with the Neuquén River....

 located upstream, on the Limay River

Limay River

The Limay River is an important river in the northwestern Argentine Patagonia . It is born at the eastern end of the Nahuel Huapi Lake and flows in a meandering path for about 380 km, collecting the waters of several tributaries, such as the Traful, the Pichileufú and the Collón Curá. It then meets...

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Constituent works

Cerros Colorados consists of four dams (Portezuelo Grande, Loma de la Lata, Planicie Banderita and El Chañar), and takes advantage of two deep natural depressions, called Los Barreales and Mari Menuco.

The Portezuelo Grande Dam (upstream) re-routes the waters of the river towards Los Barreales Lake, except for those destined to irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

, domestic supply and ecological use. The water in Los Barreales then flows toward Mari Menuco, through a passage controlled by the Loma de la Lata Dam. The water level in Mari Menuco is kept 69 m higher than that of the river in Planicie Banderita.

The Planicie Banderita hydroelectric power plant, employs two Siemens

Siemens AG

Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....

 generators equipped with vertical-axis Francis turbine

Francis turbine

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....

s (each with a nominal power of 243 MW

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

) to generate 1,512 GWh per year. The plant then returns the waters to the course of the river. Planicie Banderita delivers the generated electric power at 500 kV

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

 to the National Interconnection System.

The flow of the river is further adjusted about 10 km downstream from Planicie Banderita by a small check dam, El Chañar.