Itaipú Dam: The world's largest hydroelectric plant

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Hydroelectric power

• Hydroelectric power and water
• How hydroelectric power plants work
• World's largest hydro facility
• Advantages of hydroelectricity

USGS information resources ()

• Hydroelectric power water use, 1995 (PDF)

USGS publications

• Sustainability of Ground-Water Resources, USGS Circular 1186

References

• The Foundation for Water Education and Energy (FWEE)
• EPA: Energy Kids
• World Water Assessment Programme (UNESCO)
• The Nature of Water: Environment Canada
• Hydroelectric power - US Dept. of the Interior; Bureau of Reclamation

The Itaipú 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 Paraná River, Itaipú 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 Itaipú 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 (twice that of the highest flood-level on record).

The Itaipu dam is 7,919 meters long (counting the Hernandarias dike) 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.

Text by J. Sampaio and L. Silva. Used with permission.
Source: http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Modern/itaipu.html (accessed July 2010)