Belver Dam

Belver Dam (Barragem de Belver) is a concrete gravity dam on the Tagus, where the river forms the border line between the Portuguese districts of Portalegre and Santarém. It is located in the municipality Gavião, in Portalegre District.

Construction of the dam began in 1945. The dam was completed in 1952. It is owned by HIDROTEJO.

Dam
Belver Dam is a 30 m (height above foundation) and 327.5 m gravity dam with a crest altitude of 47.5 m. The volume of the dam is 90,000 m³. The spillway is part of the dam body (10 roller gates with a maximum discharge capacity of 18,000 m³/s).

Reservoir
At full reservoir level of 46.15 m (maximum flood level of 47.15 m) the reservoir of the dam has a surface area of 2.86 km² and its total capacity is 12.5 mio. m³. The active capacity is 8.5 (7.5) mio. m³. Minimum operating level is 41 m.

Power plant
The run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant went operational in 1951. It is operated by EDP. The plant has a nameplate capacity of 80.7  (80) MW. Its average annual generation is 220 (176, 180 or 239 ) GWh.

The power station contains six Kaplan turbine-generators in a dam powerhouse. The machines 1 to 5 have vertical shafts, whereas machine 6 has a horizontal shaft. The maximum hydraulic head is 15.2 m.