[Himachal GK] Koldam Dam

The Koldam Dam Hydropower Project of the NTPC Limited, commonly known as KolDam, is an embankment dam on the Sutlej River near Barmana on the Chandigarh-Manali Highway

( NH-21 ) and the border of Bilaspur district and Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, India. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it will support an 800 MW power station.

                                                       fig: Koldam Dam courtesy: ntpc

The foundation stone for the dam was laid on 5 June 2000 by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On 14 January 2004, main construction on the dam began. Due to problems associated with habitat and forest loss, the project has been delayed. Attempts to impound the reservoir first failed in December 2013 due to problems with sealing the diversion tunnels. By 18 March 2014, a fourth attempt to seal the tunnels and fill the lake was underway. Repairs were made and another unsuccessful impounding was reached in April 2014 as the diversion tunnels continued to leak. Another period of impounding began on 3 November 2013 and finished on 3 January 2015. A tunnel still leaked though but authorities were confident they would have the power station operational by April. Generator commissioning was originally scheduled for 2009 but was rescheduled to 2015.

Important Details :

Official name	Koldam Hydroelectric Power Project
Country	India
Location	Bilaspur district and Mandi district
Coordinates	31°22′59″N 76°52′16″E Coordinates: 31°22′59″N 76°52′16″E
Status	Operational
Construction began	2000
Opening date	2015
Owner(s)	National Thermal Power Corporation
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment, rock-fill with clay core
Height (foundation)	167 m (548 ft)
Height (thalweg)	153 m (502 ft)
Length	474 m (1,555 ft)
Elevation at crest	648 m (2,126 ft)
Width (crest)	14 m (46 ft)
Dam volume	12,000,000 m3(15,695,407 cu yd)
Spillway type	Chute, six radial gates
Spillway capacity	16,500 m3/s (582,692 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Total capacity	560,000,000 m3(453,999 acre·ft)
Max. length	40 km (25 mi)
Normal elevation	642 m (2,106 ft)
Power station
Commission date	2015
Hydraulic head	144 m (472 ft) (static)
Turbines	4 x 200 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity	800 MW

Power Generation Capacity

Its installed capacity is of 800 MW (4x200 MW). The first 200 MW Francis turbine-generator was commissioned on 30 March 2015 and the third on 10 April 2015.

Unit Number	Capacity (MW)	Date of Commissioning	Status
1	200	2015 Mar	commissioned.
2	200	2015 April	commissioned
3	200	2015 April	commissioned
4	200	2015 June	commissioned
TOTAL	800