Nov 122012
 

The La Yesca dam was officially opened last week by President Calderón. According to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), at 208.5 meters (684 feet) high, it is the second highest dam of its kind in the world, 22 meters lower than the dam for the Shibuya hydroelectric plant on the Qingjiang River in China.

The dam is located on the Santiago River, on the border between Nayarit and Jalisco, 105 km NW of Guadalajara (Jalisco) and 23 km NW of the town of Hostotipaquillo (Jalisco). This location is north of the towns of Magdalena and Tequila.

La Yesca dam and reservoir

The reservoir has a total capacity of 2.5 billion cubic meters, of which about half can be used for generating HEP. The surface area of the reservoir is 33.4 square kilometers (13 sq mi).

La Yesca is upstream of two other major HEP dams: El Cajón and Aguamilpa, and represents the latest addition to Mexico’s ambitious plan to increase the proportion of its energy needs coming from renewable sources. La Yesca has a total installed capacity of 750 MW, equivalent to about half the total electricity requirements of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city.

La Yesca dam

The La Yesca HEP scheme represents an investment of about 1.1 billion dollars and was constructed by a consortium led by Mexican firm Ingenieros Civiles Asociados (ICA). Construction began in September 2007. The Santiago River was temporarily diverted in March 2009, and the first generating unit entered service in October 2012. The second unit will enter service this month. The machine house is on the northern side of the river, and the spillway on the southern side.

The three major dams on the River Santiago help to reduce flooding downstream, while also increasing fishing opportunities. According to a CFE study, fish yields from Aguamilpa, the most accessible of the three major dams, have risen from 33.5 metric tons/yr to 5,000 metric tons/yr since the reservoir was completed.

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