Hydroelectric Power Plants in Egypt (Aswan High Dam - ESNA - Naga Hamadi)

Ahmed Amin

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Aswan High Dam

The Aswan Dam is an embankment dam situated across the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. Since the 1950s, the name commonly refers to the High Dam, which is larger and newer than the Aswan Low Dam, which was first completed in 1902. Following Egypt's independence from the United Kingdom, the High Dam was constructed between 1960 and 1970. It aimed to increase economic production by further regulating the annual river flooding and providing storage of water for agriculture, and later, to generate hydroelectricity. The dam has had a significant impact on the economy and culture of Egypt.

Before the dams were built, the Nile River flooded each year during late summer, as water flowed down the valley from its East African drainage basin. These floods brought high water and natural nutrients and minerals that annually enriched the fertile soil along the floodplain and delta; this made the Nile valley ideal for farming since ancient times. Because floods vary, in high-water years, the whole crop might be wiped out, while in low-water years widespread drought and famine occasionally occurred. As Egypt's population grew and conditions changed, both a desire and ability developed to control the floods, and thus both protect and support farmland and the economically important cotton crop. With the reservoir storage provided by these dams, the floods could be lessened, and the water could be stored for later release.

The Aswan High Dam is also used to create hydro-electricity for Egypt, In the 1980's this dam was providing half of Egypt's Electricity, but by the 1990's this had fallen as energy demands increased. The electric power capacity of the Aswan High Dam is: 2.1 gigawatts (GW). It consists of 12 Hydro-Generators each rated at 175 MW. Egypt currently has a total installed generating capacity of 16.6 gigawatts (GW) compared to 3.8 GW in 1976, thus the percentage contribution by the High dam has decreased from over half the total electricity generation to less than 13%. This percentage will continue to decrease as more thermal power plants are added. Total capacity expected to be 26 GW by 2010.

Located in Aswan, Egypt, 4 miles south of the old Aswan Dam ,The Aswan High Dam is

11,811 feet long
3215 feet thick at the base
364 feet tall
the famous Hydroelectric Power Plants in Egypt

Installed Capacity : 2100 MW (12x175 MW)
Design Head : 67 m
Design Discharge : 284 m3/sec/unit
Turbine type : Francis
Started to be connect to the grid : Oct .1967
Max. annual generated energy : 11000 MWh

Facts about Aswan High Dam

12 turbines which generate over 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year
Construction started on the dam in 1960 and it was completed in 1971
30,000 Egyptian people worked day and night to build the Aswan High Dam

Advantages of the Dam

It is also a hydro-electric power station
Created many jobs while being built
Factories also use the water for cooling and for making things
Plenty of fresh and clean drinking water for the people of Egypt
The Aswan High Dam has made the River Nile more navigable
The Aswan High Dam keeps the depth of the water in the Nile at the same level throughout the year – people are safe!
Farmers use water from the River Nile to irrigate their crops

The Aswan High Dam is 3,830 meters long, 980 meters wide at the base, 40 meters wide at the crest

and 111 meters tall. It contains 43 million cubic meters of material. At maximum, 11,000 cubic metres per second of water can pass through the dam. There are further emergency spillways for an extra 5,000 cubic meters per second and the Toshka Canal links the reservoir to the Toshka Depression. The reservoir, named Lake Nasser, is 550 km long and 35 km at its widest with a surface area of 5,250

square kilometres. It holds 111 cubic kilometers of water.