Chixoy hydroelectric dam

Infobox_Dam
dam_name= Chixoy


caption=
official_name= Hidroeléctrica Chixoy
crosses= Río Negro (Río Chixoy)
reservoir=
locale= San Cristóbal Verapaz (Alta Verapaz)
maint= EGEE - INDE
length= nd m
height= 90 m
width=
began= 1976
open= 1983
closed=
cost= US$ 944 million
reservoir_capacity=460 million m³
reservoir_catchment=
reservoir_surface=14,000 hectares
bridge_carries=
bridge_width=
bridge_clearance=
bridge_traffic=
bridge_toll=
bridge_id=
map_cue=
map_

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coordinates=
lat=15.281536
long=-90.490952
extra=

The Chixoy hydroelectric dam crosses the Río Negro/Chixoy/Salinas river complex in Guatemala. Construction on the dam started in 1976, with funding from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Major redesign work was needed to address adjusted seismic criteria for the dam and tunneling works, following the heavy 1976 earthquake. Additional costs were made to correct engineering errors, and to finance repairs to tunnel damage in the first year of operation, resulting in substantial over-budgeting. [cite web | url=http://www.centerforpoliticalecology.org/Study/chixoyvol1eng.pdf | publisher= | title=Chixoy Dam Legacy Issues Study | work=| author=Barbara Rose Johnston |publisher=Center for Political Ecology| year= 2005 | access=2008 | format=PDF] From the US$ 372.7 million calculated costs in 1978, [cite web | url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2000/03/24/000178830_98101912211148/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf | publisher= | title=Staff Appraisal Report Worldbank - Guatemala Chixoy Power Project, June 15, 1978 | work=| author=Worldbank - Regional Projects Department |publisher=| year= 1978 | access=2008 | format=PDF] the Chixoy project ended up costing US$ 944 million. [cite web | url=http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20080523/economia/55765/ | publisher= | title=Advierten una filtración de agua en Chixoy | work=| author=L. Álvarez |publisher=El Periódico| year= 2008 | access=2008 | format=]

The hydroelectric plant has 5 x 60 MWe Kaplan turbines with an effective capacity of 275 MWe, which is approximately 15% of Guatemala's total electricity production (2006) and 60% of INDE's electricity production. [cite web | url=http://www.inde.gob.gt/portal/Home.aspx?secid=27 | publisher= | title=Potencia Instalada y disponible de Unidades Generadoras del INDE y Unidades con Contrato, Año 2006 | author=INDE | access | format=] A 26 km long tunneling system with an elevation difference of 433 m, feeds the water to the plant's turbines. [cite web | url=http://www.inde.gob.gt/Portal/Home.aspx?secid=32 | publisher= | title=Hidroeléctrica chixoy | author=INDE | access | format=]

The construction of the dam, and its reservoir, displaced several local communities with a total population of 3,445 people. [cite web | url=http://www.inde.gob.gt/portal/Home.aspx?secid=27 | publisher= | title=Good Dams and Bad Dams: Environmental Criteria for Site Selection of Hydroelectric Projects, november 2003 | work=Latin America and Caribbean Region Sustainable Development Working Paper 16 | author=George Ledec & Juan David Quintero |publisher=The World Bank, Latin America and Caribbean Region (LCSES)| year= 2003 | access=2008 | format=PDF] Community resettlement efforts were poorly handled by the consecutive military governments at the time. Subsequent popular protests and claims were met by extremely brutal repression by government forces, and culminated in what is known as the Río Negro Massacres. [cite web | author=Comisión de Esclarecimiento Histórico (CEH) |title=Guatemala: Memoria del silencio. Caso ilustrativo no. 10 - Masacre y eliminación de la comunidad de Río Negro |publisher= |year=1999 |url=http://shr.aaas.org/guatemala/ceh/mds/spanish/anexo1/vol1/no10.html] [cite web | url=http://hqweb.unep.org/dams/documents/ell.asp?story_id=101 | publisher= | title=Chixoy dam | author=United Nations Environment Programme - DDP Secretariat | work=Dams and Development Project | access=2008 | format=] Claims have not yet been settled 25 years after the hydro-electric plant went into operation.

ee also

*Hydroelectricity
*Río Negro Massacres

References

External links

* [http://www.inde.gob.gt/ Instituto Nacional de Electrificación (INDE)]
* [http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2000/03/24/000178830_98101912211148/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf Staff Appraisal Report Worldbank - Guatemala Chixoy Power Project, June 15, 1978]

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