Upper Kaleköy Dam and HEPP (Concession)

The Upper Kaleköy hydropower referred to as Yukarı Kaleköy Dam is located in Bingöl province, eastern Türkiye. It is a conventional impoundment facility that exploits the water resources of the lower Murat River, a tributary of the Euphrates River.

The project involved the design, finance, construction, maintenance and operation of a greenfield hydroelectric power plant, rated at 626.85 MW capacity, and its associated infrastructure for a concession period of 49 years.  This initiative was developed by Kalehan Energy Company, a joint venture established by Özaltın and Cengiz Investment Companies, in which both hold an equal number of shares, and is the second (2^nd) of four (4) cascade hydropower stations completed by Kalehan Energy Company under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract with a combined installed capacity of 2,350 MW along the lower reaches of the Murat River.

The Upper Kaleköy renewable hydro project encompassed a dam with a hydraulic height of 137.5 meters, a crest length of 517 meters, and a roller compacted concrete (RCC) volume of 2,340,000 m³. The dam forms a reservoir with an active capacity of 450 million m³.

The powerhouse was configured to accommodate three (3) vertical-axis turbine generator units rated at 199.4 MW each, and an auxiliary unit rated at 28.65 MW, with a total installed capacity of 626.85 MW, this plant is now producing an average of 2,100 GWh of electricity annually.

The Upper Kaleköy project will contribute to advance the economic development of the country, improve its energy security, and mitigate the climate change risk by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels.