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 18 generating units add up to a total
production capacity of 12,600 MW (megawatts) and a reliable output of
75 million MWh a year.
The magnitude of the project also can be demonstrated by the fact that in 1995 Itaipú alone provided 25% of the energy supply in Brazil and 78% 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 volume of iron and steel utilized in the Dam structure would be enough to build 380 Eiffel Towers, and the volume of concrete used in Itaipú represents 15 times the volume utilized to build the Channel Tunnel between France and England. Itaipú is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, according to a worldwide survey conducted by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The article says that " To build [the Itaipú Dam], workers reenacted a labor of Hercules: they shifted the course of the seventh biggest river in the world (Parana´ River, at the Brazil/Paraguay border) and removed more than 50 million tons of earth and rock." According to the magazine, "the true marvel of Itaipú, though, is its powerhouse... a single building that puts out 12,600 megawatts -- enough to power most of California".
Text by J. Sampaio and L. Silva. Used with permission.
Source:
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/Modern/itaipu.html
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu//hybiggest.html
Page Contact Information: Howard Perlman
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 13-Aug-2008 07:19:52 EDT
