Monday, June 08, 2009

The world's largest hydroelectric plant

The Itaipu hydroelectric power plant is the largest development of its kind in operation in the world. Built from 1975 to 1991, in a joint development on the Parana River, Itaipu represents the efforts and accomplishments of two neighboring countries, Brazil and Paraguay. The power plant's 20 generating units add up to a total production capacity of 14,000 MW (megawatts). In 2000, the power plant generated 93,428 GWh (gigawatthours) of electricity, a word record for hydroelectricity generation.


The magnitude of the project also can be demonstrated by the fact that in 2000 Itaipu alone provided 20% of the energy supply in Brazil and 94% in Paraguay. The Spillway is located on the right bank, and it has 14 segmented sluice-gates with a total potential discharge rate of 62,200 cubic meters per second.


The Itaipu dam is 7,919 meters long with a maximum height of 196 meters, equivalent to a 65-story building. It consumed 12.3 million cubic meters of concrete, while the iron and steel employed would permit the construction of 380 Eiffel Towers: dimensions that transformed the power plant into a reference with respect to concrete studies and dam safety.

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