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Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant

hydroelectric power station

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 5, 2025
Entity authorityQ1142478 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant, sometimes referred to as Beles II or Tana Beles, is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant in Ethiopia near Lake Tana. The power plant receives water from the lake through the Tana-Beles interbasin transfer and after utilizing it to produce electricity, the water is then discharged into the Beles River. The plant has an installed capacity of 460 MW, making it the second largest power plant in the country. It is also expected to help provide water for the irrigation of 140,000 ha (350,000 acres). It was inaugurated in May 2010 and the last generator became operational in February 2012. Its construction was negatively perceived by downstream Egypt.

Background and construction

In 1992, the first feasibility study was completed for the project, a 200 MW power station. A later study and final design was completed in 2005 by Studio Pietrangeli for the current 460 MW plant. The Government of Ethiopia signed a contract with Salini Costruttori to build the plant on July 8, 2005, and construction began soon after. Because of the project's remote location, transportation and manning of personnel and equipment was difficult, often taking 4–5 months for supplies to arrive.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant” as hydroelectric power station. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Beles, Hydroelectric and Power.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2010, 2012, 1992, 2005—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Beles, Hydroelectric and Power providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant”, the useful work is to connect “hydroelectric power station” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1142478. Authority coordinates are 11.880, 37.011. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2010, 2012, 1992 and 2005.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant primary sources, Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant archive and Beles research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Beles Hydroelectric Power Plant” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.