“Bajina Bašta” dam and HPP are located on the middle part of the Drina River. The concrete dam is 91 m high and 461 m long along the crest; it was built in 1966. Its catchment area is 15,195 km2. The average discharge of the river is 349 m3/s.
The spillway is equipped with radial gates. The total number of spillway bays is five and their total capacity is 11,600 m3/s. Downstream of the spillway is located the stilling basin (USBR type III). Four bottom outlets with a total capacity of 644 m3/s are also present. The reservoir active volume is approximately 218 million m3 and provides conditions for a weekly and partly seasonal water regulation.
The powerhouse with four generating units is located downstream of the dam. In the past eight years, revitalization works of the HPP have been performed, leading to an increase of the installed capacity by 50 MW. The revitalization comprised the rehabilitation of all four generating units. The environmentally guaranteed flow is 50 m3/s. The main characteristics of the “Bajina Bašta” HPP and its appurtenant structures are as follows:
- Reservoir:
| Total volume | 340 Mm3 |
| Live volume | 218 Mm3 |
| Max. OEL | 290.2 m.a.s.l. |
| Normal OEL | 290.0 m.a.s.l. |
| Min. OEL | 267.0 m.a.s.l. |
- Dam
| Type | Concrete – buttress |
| Crest elevation | 292.5 m.a.s.l. |
| Height | 90.5 m |
- HPP
| Type | Non-diversion |
| Max. head | 69.9 m |
| Rated head | 65.1 m |
| Min. head | 42.9 m |
| Installed flow | 644 m3/s |
| Installed power | 368 MW |
| Annual energy | 1,650 GWh |
| No. of units | 4 |
| Type of turbine | Francis vertical |
Source: IWRM Country Report for Serbia, COWI, Stucky and Jaroslav Cerni Water Institute, 2017