Duration 3 hours – Maximum 12 people – Check rates
The Yacyretá Hydroelectric Complex is the largest dam in Argentina, carried out in conjunction with the neighboring country Paraguay, on the course of the Paraná River, whose main purpose is the transformation of water energy into electrical energy.
It is located in the town of Ituzaingó, 25 km from the hotel. The tour is led by guides belonging to the dam company. Visitors will watch a 360° video of the dam, see the navigation lock, look at the reservoir from a vantage point, and visit the engine room.
Yacyretá is a hydroelectric plant built jointly between Argentina and Paraguay. It is located in the upper course of the Paraná River, taking advantage of the river current to transform the power of stored water into electrical energy. Specifically, it is located between the city of Ituzaingó, Corrientes, and San Cosme y Damián, in Paraguay.
Its main goal is to provide abundant, clean, renewable and low-cost energy to both countries. In addition, it helps improve the navigability of the Paraná River, serves as a flood alert and facilitates the implementation of irrigation. The facilities include several components: the plant, the turbines, the spillways, the fish elevator, the dam, the reservoir and the navigation lock.
HISTORY OF THE YACYRETÁ DAM
Work began in 1983 and the dam was put into operation in September 1994, when the commercial generation of energy started. It has twenty vertical axis Kaplan-style turbines made of steel. Each turbine has a weight of 278 tons and can deliver a maximum power of 160 Megawatts and evacuate, at most, 830 m³/s.
To get an idea of the volume of water that these turbines move, if we were to take all the water that crosses the Iguazu Falls (whose average flow is 1750 m3/s), less than three of the twenty turbines installed in the dam could handle the flow. Another example: if we took all the water consumed by Asunción (the capital of Paraguay) in 13 days, or by the city of Buenos Aires in two days, this would keep the 20 turbines working for just one hour.
Currently, the plant covers the electricity requirements of 50% of households in Argentina. In turn, Paraguay only consumes 13% of the energy produced by the Yacyretá Hydroelectric Complex.
The area where the dam is located has abundant fish fauna and there are areas designated for fishing. With the aim of maintaining and protecting the Paraguayan Argentine water fauna, fishing is regulated.
COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY, CONSERVATION AND THE RECOVERY OF BIODIVERSITY
Although the hydroelectric dam is relatively low polluting, the Binational Entity has allocated areas for the conservation and recovery of local flora and fauna, in order to reduce the environmental impact of the works.
Currently, the entity has a protected area covering 58,000 hectares, and plans to increase this area to 187,000 hectares as the project progresses.
It also has the Atinguy Wildlife Refuge, which is located 18 km from Ayolas; its territory covers 100 hectares, where various species of local fauna and flora can be seen.