Los Aromos Hydroelectric Power Plant
We participated in the development of conceptual engineering, engineering support for the processing of environmental and sectorial permits, bidding and contracting of the works, detailed engineering, construction management and supervision of the works, coordination and commissioning of the hydroelectric power plant. Currently in the environmental processing phase.
General information:
Client: Minicentral Hidroeléctrica Saltos de Los Andes, S.A.
Location: Los Angeles, Chile
Year: 2012-2019
Summary of the project:
SOCOTEC is developing the Project Management of this hydroelectric power plant located in the Araucanía region (Chile), taking advantage of the waters of the Toltén river, waters from the confluence of the Allipén river. This plant is sized for a flow of 120 m³/s and has a gross head of 21 m. Its installed capacity is 19.5 MW. The average flow of the Toltén River at the catchment point is almost 500 m³/s, with a catchment basin of more than 6,000 km² and a rainfall that easily exceeds 3,000 mm per year. These characteristics give the river a fairly high minimum flow regime, providing a plant factor of over 90%.
Project details:
The hydraulic scheme of the jump has a low barrier or weir topped with clapper or swing gates. This work integrates the lock for small boats, the intake of the naturalized channel for fish and the ecological flow supply organs. The intake consists of two Taintor gates that will allow regulating the incoming flow, giving access to the adduction channel, with a trapezoidal section, 5 km long and with a slope of 0.2%.
The loading chamber and powerhouse are integrated into the same structure, with a lateral discharge channel that bridges the building and connects to the restitution channel. The power plant building contains three identical generation groups, consisting of Kaplan turbines with vertical axis of 40 m³/s each, and vertical alternators of 7.5 MVA.
The turbined water is returned to the Toltén River through a channel with the same geometry as the intake channel and a length of 3.7 km.
This power plant will prevent the emission of 80,000 tons of CO2 per year, generating clean and sustainable energy for 60,000 homes.
