| Itaipu Dam Represa de Itaipú Barragem de Itaipu | |
|---|---|
 The Itaipu Dam | |
  Location of the Dam  Itaipu Dam (Brazil) | |
| Official name | Central Hidroeléctrica Itaipú Binacional Usina Hidrelétrica Itaipu Binacional |
| Country | Brazil Paraguay |
| Location | Foz do Iguaçu Hernandarias |
| Coordinates | 25°24′29″S 54°35′20″W / 25.40806°S 54.58889°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | January 1971 |
| Opening date | 5 May 1984 |
| Construction cost | US$19.6 billion (equivalent to $57.5 billion today) |
| Owner(s) | Government of Brazil & Government of Paraguay |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Combination gravity, buttress and embankment sections |
| Impounds | Paraná River |
| Height | 196 m (643 ft), reinf. concrete Barrage at Rock side |
| Length | 7,919 m (25,981 ft) |
| Dam volume | 12,300,000 m3 (430,000,000 cu ft) |
| Spillway capacity | 62,200 m3/s (2,200,000 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Itaipu Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 29 km3 (24,000,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Catchment area | 1,350,000 km2 (520,000 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 1,350 km2 (520 sq mi) |
| Maximum length | 170 km (110 mi) |
| Maximum width | 12 km (7.5 mi) |
| Power Station | |
| Type | Conventional |
| Hydraulic head | 118 m (387 ft) |
| Turbines | 20 × 700 MW (940,000 hp) Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 14 GW |
| Capacity factor | 62,3% (2020) |
| Annual generation | 76.382 TWh (274.98 PJ) (2020)[1] |
| Website www.itaipu.gov.br www.itaipu.gov.py | |
The Itaipu Dam (Guarani: Yjoko Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Portuguese: Barragem de Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Spanish: Represa de Itaipú [itajˈpu]) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It is the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, and holds the 45th largest reservoir in the world.
The name "Itaipu" was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means "the sounding stone".[2] The Itaipu Dam's hydroelectric power plant produced the second-most electricity of any in the world as of 2020, only surpassed by the Three Gorges Dam plant in China in electricity production.
Completed in 1984, it is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the border between the two countries, 15 km (9.3 mi) 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 providing 700 MW each with a hydraulic design head of 118 metres (387 ft). In 2016, the plant employed 3038 workers.[3]
Of the twenty generator units currently installed, ten generate at 50 Hz for Paraguay and ten generate at 60 Hz for Brazil. Since the output capacity of the Paraguayan generators far exceeds the load in Paraguay, most of their production is exported directly to the Brazilian side, from where two 600 kV HVDC lines, each approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) long, carry the majority of the energy to the São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro region where the terminal equipment converts the power to 60 Hz.
- ^ "Energy | Itaipu Binacional".
- ^ "Energy". Itaipu Binacional. 2014. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Number of employees | ITAIPU BINACIONAL". Archived from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2017-02-16.