The hydro facility is located in Sarapiquí, 45 kilometers from the city of San José. The facility diverts water from the San Fernando River with a concrete gravity dam. The diverted water flow goes through a siltation basin, located immediately downstream from the dam. Subsequently, it enters a conveyance system, consisting of 3 kilometers of both open and buried canal. Water is conveyed to a geomembrane-covered excavated reservoir designed to store 85,760 cubic meters of water, enough to generate at full capacity during daily peak hours (5 hours.) A 3000 meter-long penstock conveys the flow from the regulating reservoir to the powerhouse where a single 14 MW turbine-generator set is installed (horizontal Pelton.) Subsequent to generating, water returns through a tailrace canal to the Volcán River. A transformer in the project’s substation increases voltage to 34.5 kV and power is transmitted through an overhead transmission line to the delivery point at ICE’s Toro Substation, 14 kilometers away.
- Municipality Alajuela
- Province Alajuela
- Year of construction 1996
- Type Hydro
- Capacity 14 MW
- Unities 1
- Fuel Water
- Height 422 m
- Size 4.3 m³/s
- Production 65.95 Gwh
- Equipment used Pelton Turbine
