Itaipu

Itaipu (Guarani: Itaipu, Portuguese: Itaipu, Spanish: Itaipú; pronounced ) is a dam of the Paraná River that includes a hydroelectric power plant, located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The name "Itaipu" was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. Itaipu, from the Guarani language, means "singing stones".

Itaipu Binacional is a company that runs the largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world >. It is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the border section between the two countries, 15 km north of the Friendship Bridge. The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto del Guairá in the north. The installed generation capacity of the plant is 14 GW, with 20 generating units of 700 MW each. In the year 2000 it achieved its generating record of 93.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), which supplied 95% of the energy consumed by Paraguay and 24% of that consumed by Brazil.

History

Negotiations between Brazil and Paraguay

The Itaipu Power Plant is the result of heavy negotiations among the two countries during the 1960's. The "Ata do Iguaçu" (Iguaçu Act) was signed on July 22, 1966, by the Brazilian and Paraguayan Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Juracy Magalhães and Sapena Pastor, respectively. This was a joint declaration of the mutual interest in studying the exploitation of the hydric resources that the two countries shared in the section of the Paraná River starting from and including the Salto de Sete Quedas to the Iguaçu River's watershed.

Construction starts

In 1970, the consortium formed by the companies IECO (from the United States of America) and ELC (from Italy) won the international competition for the realization of the viability studies and for the elaboration of the construction project. Work began in February 1971. On April 26, 1973, Brazil and Paraguay signed the Itaipu Treaty, the legal instrument for the hydroelectric exploitation of the Paraná River by the two countries. On May 17, 1974, the Itaipu Binacional entity was created to admnistrate the plant's construction. The works began in January of the following year.

Paraná River rerouted

On October 14, 1978, the Paraná River had its route changed, which allowed a section of the riverbed to dry so the dam could be built there.

Agreement between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina

An important diplomatic settlement was made with the signing of the Acordo Tripartite between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, on October 19 1979. This agreement established the allowed river levels and how much they could change as a result of the various hydroelectrical undertakings in the watershed that was shared by the three countries. By that time, as the three countries were ruled by military dictatorships, Argentina was concerned that, in the and flooding that took place at the time.

Start of operations

On the fifth of May, 1984, the first generation unit started running in Itaipu. The first 18 units were installed at the rate of two to three a year; the last two of these started running in the year 1991.

Capacity expansion in 2006

The last two units, for a final total of 20, are expected to start operations before the end of 2006, increasing the capacity of the plant from 12,600 MW to 14,000 MW. This increase in capacity will allow for 18 generation units to remain running all of the time while two stay down for maintenance (while today, 16 or 17 run while one or two are down).

With its 18 units currently in operation, Itaipu generates an average of 90 million megawatt-hours (MWh) per year. With the increase in capacity and in favorable conditions of the Paraná River (regular rains throughout the basin area), generation may reach the mark of 100,000,000 MWh.

Each turbine generates around 700 megawatts; for comparison, all the water from the Iguazu Falls would have capacity to feed only two generators.

Power transmission

The power generated by the generators on the Paraguayan side is done at a frequency of 50 hertz, the grid frequency of that country. The generators on the Brazilian side run with the grid frequency of Brazil, which is 60 hertz. Because Paraguay cannot consume all the energy produced by its generators, a part of it is sold to Brazil, converted to DC, transferred via the HVDC Itaipu to the São Paulo area, and then inverted to 60 Hz AC. The power generated by the Brazilian generators is transferred by 765 kV three phase AC lines to São Paulo.

Braziguayans

The rising of the dam's lake flooded the property of some people who lived in the far west of Paraná. The relocation compensation was not enough for the rural workers to buy new lands in Brazil. Since land in Paraguay is cheaper, thousands emigrated to this country, creating the social phenomenon of Braziguayans (Brasiguaios, locally) - Brazilians and their families who live in Paraguayan territory close to the border with Brazil.

Royalties

On the 170 kilometers between Foz do Iguaçu and Guaíra, the Itaipu reservoir covers areas of 16 municipalities, 15 of those in Paraná and one in Mato Grosso do Sul. As a compensation, Itaipu pays royalties to these municipalities, in proportion to the flooded area. Additional royalties are paid to the State of Paraná.

Based on the so-called Lei dos Royalties (Royalties Law), passed in 1991, Itaipu has paid so far more than US$ 2.86 billion in royalties, half of it to the state government and half to the municipalities. 75% of this sum has stayed in Paraná.

The following shows the distribution of royalties to the municipalities of Paraná, accumulated over the years:

Foz do Iguaçu US$ 165.5 million;
Santa Terezinha de Itaipu US$ 34.3 million;
São Miguel do Iguaçu US$ 87.0 million;
Itaipulândia US$ 134.9 million;
Medianeira US$ 951.4 thousand;
Missal US$ 32.8 million;
Santa Helena US$ 216.2 million;
Diamante D'Oeste US$ 4.6 million;
São José das Palmeiras US$ 1.5 million;
Marechal Cândido Rondon US$ 52.8 million;
Mercedes US$ 14.5 million;
Pato Bragado US$ 35.3 million;
Entre Rios do Oeste US$ 24.6 million;
Terra Roxa US$ 1.2 million;
Guaíra US$ 41.8 million.

The municipality of Mundo Novo in Mato Grosso do Sul has received, since 1991, US$ 11.9 million.

Wonder of the World, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers

The Itaipu Dam is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, in a list compiled in 1995 by the American magazine Popular Mechanics. This list was made based on a reseach from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) among engineers of several countries.

Other information

Concrete

The amount of concrete used to build the Itaipu Power Plant would be enough to build 210 football stadiums the size of Maracanã. During its construction, the fabrication of concrete would have been enough to build, each hour, a 25 storey building.

It has been estimated that the amount of concrete used to build the dam was equivalent to that of the whole state of Santa Catarina, by the time the Dam was completed.

Iron

The iron and steel used would allow for the construction of 380 Eiffel Towers.

Flow

The maximum flow of the Itaipu's spillway is 62,2 thousand cubic metres per second, it is equivalent to 40 times the average flow of the Iguazu Falls.

The flow of two generators (700 m³/s each) is roughly equivalent to the average flow of the Falls (1500 m³/s).

Energy

If Brazil were to use Thermal Power Generation to produce the electric power of Itaipu, 434 thousand barrels of petroleum would have to be burned every day.

Earthworks

The volume of excavation of earth and rock in Itaipu is 8.5 times greater than that of the Euro Tunnel and the volume of concrete is 15 times greater. Over 50 million tonnes of earth and stones were removed.

The reservoir

Though it is the seventh greater in size in Brazil, the Itaipu's reservoir has the best relation between production and flooded area. For the 12,600 MW installed power, 1350 square kilometres were flooded. The reservoirs for the hydroelectrical power plants of Sobradinho, Tucuruí, Porto Primavera, Balbina, Serra da Mesa and Furnas are all larger than the one for Itaipu, and all of them lose in installed capacity.

The one with the largest energy production, Tucuruí, has an installed capacity of 4,240 MW, but it had to flood 2,430 square kilometres of land.

Dimensions

The dam is 196 metres high, that is equivalent to a 50 storey building.

Workers

Around forty thousand people worked in the construction.

Generation

Annual Production of Energy
Year	Number of Installed Units	GWh
1984	0–2	277
1985	2–3	6,327
1986	3–6	21,853
1987	6–9	35,807
1988	9–12	38,508
1989	12–15	47,230
1990	15–16	53,090
1991	16–18	57,517
1992	18	52,268
1993	18	59,997
1994	18	69,394
1995	18	77,212
1996	18	81,654
1997	18	89,237
1998	18	87,845
1999	18	90,001
2000	18	93,428
2001	18	79,307
2002	18	82,914
2003	18	89,151
2004	18	89,911
2005	18	87,971
Total	18	1,390,912

References

External links

Itaipu Company Site(in Portuguese, English, and Spanish)
Introduction
Power conversion
Power conditioning
The Itaipu Transmission System
Google Maps Satellite Image of the Dam

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