TRAVELS
Jan 6, 2025
An Engineering Marvel: Atatürk Dam
"Turkey's largest hydroelectric power plant: Atatürk Dam"
Truly an engineering marvel, Turkey’s largest dam rightfully bears the name of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and leader of the Republic of Turkey. Having had the opportunity to visit some of its most exclusive sections, I can say that such a monumental structure deserves its name. Initially named Karababa Dam, it was renamed Atatürk Dam in 1981 to commemorate Atatürk’s 100th birth anniversary, and it was officially inaugurated in 1992.
Atatürk Dam is a hydroelectric power plant (HPP) built on the Euphrates River. A total of five dams have been constructed along the same line on the Turkish stretch of the Euphrates. The same water repeatedly drives the turbines of all five dams, generating energy at each stage. As a result, the water that begins its journey at Keban Dam continues to generate electricity at Karkamış Dam before flowing into Syria. The water then travels through Syria and Iraq, eventually reaching the Persian Gulf. In addition to the five dams built in Turkey, there are also the Tabqa Dam in Syria and the Haditha Dam in Iraq. This means that the same water generates electricity seven times in total, providing life to three different countries.
At Atatürk Dam, there are eight turbine generators, each weighing 640 tons. These massive turbine generators can produce electricity only if the water level is at least 133 meters. The maximum allowable water level is 542 meters.
When the water level at Atatürk Dam exceeds 542 meters, all turbine generators are activated to produce electricity, while excess water is discharged through the spillway gates. However, according to the information I obtained, these spillway gates have only been used twice since the dam's construction. Officials stated that if the full potential of all five dams on the Euphrates River were to be released at once, a large portion of Syria could be submerged. This also highlights the strategic power that these dams provide.
When it comes to the pipes through which water flows by utilizing the height difference… These pipes are called penstocks. The penstocks are far beyond anything I could have imagined in terms of size. With diameters ranging between 6.60 and 7.25 meters, a double-decker bus could easily pass through them - with room to spare.
Each of these pipes carries 175 cubic meters (175 tons) of water per second. When all eight turbine generators are operating at full capacity, the water flow reaches 1,400 cubic meters per second. The total length of these pipes is approximately 5 kilometers, with a combined weight of around 27 tons. A perfect illustration of how small we are next to them! 😊
Each penstock is connected to a generator. After passing through the turbine generators, the water is discharged downward before being released outside. When I was there, two turbine generators were active, and I am sharing the view of the water being redirected underwater after passing through the turbines in the video below.
After visiting the penstocks and generators, we met with the engineer in charge at the operations control center. In this room, where they can monitor all data in real-time on giant screens and intervene in the entire process, I learned some interesting facts. Since energy cannot be stored, it is distributed in real-time from substations across Turkey, meaning that only the required amount of energy is generated. The estimated energy demand is reported to this center one day in advance, and production is adjusted accordingly to meet the planned consumption.
When it was first built, Atatürk Dam supplied 10-11% of Turkey’s total energy demand. However, due to increasing energy consumption, this figure has now dropped to 2.5%. I also learned that the total contribution of the five dams on the Euphrates River to Turkey’s total energy consumption is around 8%. The initial investment cost of Atatürk Dam was $4 billion, but it recovered this cost within two years and has since generated an average of $2 to $2.5 billion worth of energy per year.
However, electricity generation is not the dam's only purpose. During drought periods, when irrigation needs are high, water is diverted to agricultural fields instead of being used for energy production. This makes accurate production planning essential - if more electricity than planned is generated, it takes away water that should be allocated to farmland.
I also noticed a large fish population and asked the officials about it. They explained that approximately 10 million juvenile fish were released into Atatürk Dam last year through Fish Production Facilities. Among them, 3 million belong to the endemic species Shabut. This initiative aims to provide an alternative source of income for the local community. Before the dam was built, fish weighing up to 170 kg were reportedly caught. In recent years, 70 kg fish have been recorded. The fish in the picture below, caught in Atatürk Dam, weighs 30 kg - now imagine what a 170 kg fish would look like! 😊
In conclusion, Atatürk Dam, along with the other four dams, contributes significantly to agricultural irrigation, electricity production, regional tourism, and the Turkish economy. Undoubtedly one of the most valuable investments made for the country, Atatürk Dam is a site I highly recommend visiting.
