Sirikit Dam | |
Name Official: | Queen Sirikit Dam |
Location Map: | Thailand |
Coordinates: | 17.7639°N 100.5633°W |
Country: | Thailand |
Location: | Tha Pla, Uttaradit |
Status: | In use |
Construction Began: | 1968 |
Opening: | 1974 |
Owner: | Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand |
Dam Type: | Embankment |
Dam Height: | 113.60NaN0 |
Dam Length: | 8000NaN0 |
Dam Width Crest: | 120NaN0 |
Dam Width Base: | 6300NaN0 |
Dam Crosses: | Nan River |
Spillway Type: | Tunnel, service |
Spillway Capacity: | 32500NaN0 |
Res Name: | Sirikit Reservoir |
Res Capacity Total: | 9510000000m2 |
Res Capacity Active: | 6668000000m2 |
Res Catchment: | 131300NaN0 |
Res Surface: | 2590NaN0 |
Plant Hydraulic Head: | 75.40NaN0 (rated) |
Plant Commission: | 1974, 1995 |
Plant Turbines: | 4 x 125 MW Francis-type |
Plant Capacity: | 500 MW |
The Queen Sirikit Dam is an embankment dam on the Nan River, a tributary of the Chao Phraya River, in Tha Pla District, Uttaradit Province, Thailand. It is at the southeastern edge of the Phi Pan Nam Range. The dam was built for the purpose of irrigation, flood control and hydroelectric power production. It is named after Sirikit, Queen of Thailand.
The Sirikit Dam among others in the Chao Phraya basin were constructed beginning in the 1950s to exploit the agricultural and hydroelectric potential of the basin. Preliminary construction on the dam began in 1968 and it was finished in 1972. The power plant and first three units were commissioned in 1974, the fourth in 1995. Previously in 1964, the Bhumibol Dam was completed on the Ping River, one of two major tributaries of the Chao Phraya including the Nan. The Bhumibol and Sirkit Dams control 22% of the Chao Phraya's annual runoff combined.[1] Both dams also help provide for the irrigation of 12000000NaN0 in the wet season and 4800000NaN0 in the dry season.[2]
The dam is a 113.60NaN0 high and 8000NaN0 long embankment dam that is 6300NaN0 wide at its base and 120NaN0 wide at its crest. The dam withholds a reservoir of 9510000000m2 of which 6666000000m2 is active or "useful" storage. The reservoir has a surface area of 2590NaN0.[3] The dam's spillway consists of a tunnel controlled by two radial gates, it has a capacity of 32500NaN0. The dam's power station contains 4 x 125 MW Francis turbines for an installed capacity of 500 MW.[4]