Know-how ought to profit humanity. Probably the most outstanding examples of expertise’s potential to supply enduring advantages is the Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam, a large binational power venture between Brazil and Paraguay. Constructed on the Paraná River, which types a part of the border between the 2 nations, Itaipu remodeled a once-contested hydroelectric useful resource right into a shared engine of financial progress.
The energy plant has held many information. For many years, it was the world’s largest hydroelectric facility; the dam spans the river’s 7.9-kilometer width and reaches a top of 196 meters.Itaipu was additionally the primary hydropower plant to generate greater than 100 terawatt hours of electrical energy in a yr.
To acknowledge Itaipu’s monumental engineering achievement, on 4 March the dam was acknowledged as an IEEE Milestone throughout a ceremony in Hernandarias, Paraguay. The ceremony commemorated the venture’s impression on engineering and power manufacturing.
Itaipu’s huge scale
By the late Sixties, Brazil and Paraguay acknowledged the Paraná River’s untapped hydroelectric potential, in keeping with the International Infrastructure Hub. Brazil, which was present process fast industrialization, sought a steady, renewable power supply to scale back its dependence on fossil fuels. In the meantime, Paraguay, missing the monetary assets to assemble a gigawatt-scale hydroelectric facility independently, entered right into a treaty with Brazil in 1973. The settlement granted each international locations equal possession of the dam and its energy era.
Building started in 1975 and was accomplished in 1984, costing US $19.6 billion. The size of the venture was staggering. Engineers excavated 50 million cubic meters of earth and rock, poured 12.3 million cubic meters of concrete, and used sufficient iron and metal to assemble 380 Eiffel Towers.
Itaipu was designed for steady enlargement. It initially launched with two 700-megawatt turbine items, offering 1.4 gigawatts of capability. By 1991, the energy plant reached its deliberate 12.6 GW capability. In 2006 and 2007, it was expanded to 14 GW with the addition of two extra items, for a complete of 20. Though China’s 22.5-GW Three Gorges Dam, on the Yangtze River close to town of Yichang, surpassed Itaipu’s capability in 2012, the South American dam stays one of many world’s most efficient hydroelectric amenities.
On common, Itaipu generates round 90 terawatt-hours of electrical energy yearly. It set a file by producing 103.1 TWh in 2016 (surpassed in 2020 by Three Gorges’ 111.8-TWh output). To place 100 TWh into perspective, an influence plant would want to burn roughly 50 million tonnes of coal to supply the identical quantity of power, in keeping with the U.S. Vitality Info Administration.
By harnessing 62,200 cubic meters of river water per second, Itaipu prevents the discharge of practically 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. Throughout its 40-year lifetime, the dam has generated greater than 3,000 TWh of electrical energy, assembly practically 90 p.c of Paraguay’s power wants and contributing roughly 10 p.c of Brazil’s electrical energy provide.
Itaipu’s legacy endures as a testomony to the advantages of worldwide cooperation and sustainable power and to the facility of engineering to form the long run.
IEEE recognition for Itaipu
The IEEE Milestone commemorative plaque, now displayed within the dam’s customer heart, highlights Itaipu’s position as a world chief in hydroelectric energy era. It reads:
“Itaipu energy plant building started in 1975 as a joint Brazil-Paraguay enterprise. When energy era began in 1984, Itaipu set a world file for the one largest put in hydroelectric capability (14 GW). For at the very least three a long time, Itaipu produced extra electrical energy yearly than every other hydroelectric venture. Linking energy vegetation, substations, and transmission strains in each Brazil and Paraguay, Itaipu’s system offered dependable, reasonably priced power to shoppers and business.”
Administered by the IEEE Historical past Heart and supported by donors, the Milestone program acknowledges excellent technical developments worldwide. The IEEE Paraguay Part sponsored the nomination.
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