Đerdap Lake 1.89

The Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station is the largest dam on the Danube river and one of the largest hydro power plants in Europe. It is located on the Iron Gate gorge, between Romania and Serbia.The Romanian side of the power station produces approximately annually, while the Serbian side of the power station produces. The discrepancy in power output between the two halves is due to the generating equipment. While Romania's equipment is newer and thus more efficient, it is proving more unreliable; resulting in increased downtime for maintenance/repairs, and consequently lower annual power output overall.HistoryThe project started in 1964 as a joint-venture between the governments of Romania and Yugoslavia for the construction of a major dam on the Danube River which would serve both countries. At the time of completion in 1972, it was one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in the world with twelve units generating, divided equally between the two countries at each.The small inhabited island of Ada Kaleh was submerged during the construction.ModernizationAs the original turbines' 30 years lifespan came to an end, in 1998 the Romanian half of the dam started a program of modernization. As part of this program, the first of the turbines was stopped in 1999. By 2007 the program was completed and the Romanian half of the dam's operations were back to full capacity. The nominal capacity of each of the six units was increased from to, thus giving an installed capacity of and increasing the entire power generation capacity of the dam to at the time. On the Serbian part of the dam, modernization started in July 2008; so far. The units are being upgraded with the help of Russian company Power Machines from Saint Petersburg, as well as their subcontractors with the participation of eleven domestic companies.