Banja Dam in Albania opens its spillway for the first time (video)

A drone captured an incredible view of the floodgates opening

A drone captured an incredible view of the floodgates opening

In 2013, the Albanian company Devoll Hydropower began working on three new power projects in the country, one of which is the Banja Dam and reservoir. The Banja dam stands 80m (262 feet) tall and the reservoir stretches for nearly 16 km (10 miles). The dam itself is a hydroelectric power plant with a reservoir of 178 million m³ (47 billion gallons) of water and it will generate an estimated 255GWh of energy each year when fully operational in 2018. Banja HPP is equipped with two vertical Francis units with a total installed capacity of 66 MW and a horizontal Francis unit of 7 MW capacity for ecological flow. Total installed capacity is 73 MW.

The filling of the Banja Reservoir began on the 15^th of April. It has a surface area of approximately 14 km², which is more than 2000 football fields. Last August, once it reached an operational level and power generating units were successfully commissioned, a trial run took place. The gates were opened for the first time and water was allowed to stream down the fresh spillway. The silent footage shows the event from a drone's eye view. Banja hydropower plant will enter into normal operation as soon as trial runs of units have been successfully completed.

In addition to Banja HPP, the Devoll Hydropower project consists of the 185 MW Moglice hydropower plant under construction (expected to be operational by the end of 2018), 50 km of high voltage transmission lines and over 100 km of new and refurbished roads.

Source: Statkraft