Chaira Hydro Power Plant

Chaira Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant
The Lake of Chaira Hydro Power Plant
Location of Chaira Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant in Bulgaria
Country	Bulgaria
Location	Pazardzhik Province
Coordinates	42°9′32″N 23°52′15″E / 42.15889°N 23.87083°E / 42.15889; 23.87083Coordinates: 42°9′32″N 23°52′15″E / 42.15889°N 23.87083°E / 42.15889; 23.87083
Status	Operational
Commission date	1995 (units 1 and 2) 1999 (units 3 and 4)
Owner(s)	NEK EAD
Pumped-storage power station
Upper reservoir	Belmeken reservoir
Power generation
Units operational	4 x 216 MW reversible Francis turbine
Make and model	Toshiba
Nameplate capacity	864 MW

Wall of Chaira Hydro Power Plant

The Chaira Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant (Chaira PSHPP) was built in the Rila mountains, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of the capital city, Sofia. Chaira has generating capacity of 864 megawatts (1,159,000 hp) and a pumping capacity of 788 megawatts (1,057,000 hp), and is thus the largest pumped-storage plant in southeast Europe. The power plant is equipped with four reversible Francis pump-turbines, each rated at 216 megawatts (290,000 hp) in the generating mode, and 197 megawatts (264,000 hp) in pumping mode. Units 1 and 2 have been in operation since 1995, and that time Chaira was the highest head in the world for a single-stage pump turbine (690 metres (2,260 ft) generating and 701 metres (2,300 ft) pumping). Units 3 and 4 came online in 1999. The pump-turbines and motor-generators were supplied by Toshiba, and three of them were manufactured under Japanese supervision in Bulgaria. The upper compensating basin for Chaira is the Belmeken reservoir that is connected to the Chaira pumped storage hydro power plant by two headrace tunnels with a diameter of 4.2 metres (14 ft) and two penstocks with diameter 4.4 metres (14 ft), reducing to 4.2 metres (14 ft).

References

Power plants in Bulgaria with more than 100 megawatts (130,000 hp) installed capacity

Nuclear power plants:	Kozloduy - 3,760 MW Belene - 2,000 MW

Thermal power plants:	Maritsa Iztok 2 - 1,470 MW Varna - 1,260 MW Maritsa Iztok 3 - 900 MW Bobov Dol - 630 MW Ruse Iztok - 600 MW Maritsa Iztok 1 - 500 MW Maritsa 3 - 240 MW Republika - 180 MW Sofia - 130 MW Sofia Iztok - 100 MW

Hydro power plants:	Chaira - 840 MW Dospat-Vacha - 670 MW Belmeken - 375 MW Sestrimo - 240MW Batashki Vodnosilov Pat - 230 MW Kardzhali - 170 MW Gorna Arda - 160 MW Orphey - 160 MW Peshtera - 128MW Momina Klisura - 120 MW Sredna Vacha - 120 MW Ivailovgrad - 110 MW

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