Nilwande Dam

Nilwande Dam refers to two associated gravity dams built using roller-compacted concrete, the first use in India. They are situated in Ghatghar village in Ahmednagar district Maharashtra, India. Both dams create a lower and upper reservoir for the 250 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station. The upper Nilwande dam is 15 m (49 ft) tall and on the Pravara River, a tributary of Godavari river. The lower Nilwande dam is 86 m (282 ft) tall and on the Shahi Nalla River directly to the south west of the upper reservoir in a steep valley. The hydro power project diverts Godavari river basin water outside the basin area to a west flowing river of Western ghats.

The power station is located between both the upper and lower reservoirs. During peak electricity demand hours, water from the upper reservoir turns two 125 MW reversible Francis turbine-generators. When energy demand is low, such as at night, the turbines reverse direction and pump water from the lower reservoir back to the upper. Construction on the project began in 1995, the dams were placed beginning in 2001 and were complete by 2006. The power station was commissioned in 2008.

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