Picote Hydroelectric Power Plant, Portugal

In Portugal, not far from the Miranda hydroelectric plant, in the northeastern part of the country on the border with Spain, another engineering feat was completed on the Douro River. This is the Picote Dam, located near the the same-name village, constructed between 1955 and 1957.

The project was carried out by Imprese Italiane all’Estero S.p.A., which later merged into the Webuild Group.

The Picote Dam is a concrete arch dam with a maximum height of 100 meters, a crest length of 93.50 meters, and a usable head of 71 meters. The original plant had a capacity of 180 KW and an estimated annual production of 1,000 GWh.

The geographical layout of the area and the lack of space made the organization of the construction site particularly challenging, leading to the development of the site primarily in height with extensive use of temporary structures.

Despite an exceptional flood of the Douro River, which reduced the already tight schedule for the completion of the project to 24 months, the plant was made operational within the prescribed timeframe by multiplying the work centers for the simultaneous construction of various works, including the preliminary works, the barrier dam, the underground power station, the control center, and the outdoor substation.
For this reason, up to 1,700 workers were employed daily, along with a concentration of equipment far exceeding the norm for those times.