ABSTRACT
This paper delves into the fascinating Drini River Cascade, a cascade of six large reservoirs and five Hydro power plants (HPPs), that serves Albania and North Macedonia. The Drini River Cascade is a unique and remarkable engineering feat in Europe, boasting a total water capacity of 4.3 billion m³, and remarkable infrastructure. It features the tallest rockfill dam with clay core in Europe - the Fierza HPP dam, which stands at a staggering height of 166.5 m, and the largest Hydro power plant (HPP) with Hydro-matrix turbines-the Ashta 1 HPP and Ashta 2 HPP, with a total capacity of 53 MW.
Drini River flow from Ohrid Lake in Struga town of North Macedonia and Zhleb Mountain near of Peja town of Kosovo. They receives many relativity long tributaries. White Drin reaches the town of Kukes in Albania where it meet the Black Drin and forms the Drin River which flow into the Adriatic sea. At 335 km long, the Drin is the longest river of Albania of which 285 km passes across Albania and the remainder through Kosova and North Macedonia.
The Drini River Cascade’s ability to harness the power of water for energy production is un-matched in Albania, with over 70% of the country’s energy being generated by the cascade’s HPPs. Moreover, the cascade’s versatility is its strength, as it provides an array of services including hydro power production, water transport, aquaculture, tourism, flood protection, and even solar energy production.
The Drini River Cascade’s future looks bright, with plans underway to construct a new HPP and expand its solar energy production capabilities.
In conclusion, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the Drini River Cascade, highlighting its engineering marvels, remarkable energy production capabilities, and versatile applications, as well as its future prospects for dam safety improvement, expansion and new development.
