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Still slightly under the influence from the night before myself, Eddie, Alice and Patrick opted to see the Itaipu dam one of the seven modern wonders of the world over a shopping trip across the border to Uruguay and what a wise decision it was! Here goes the wiki speel as the hang over had kicked in when we got there and my limited capacity for facts and figures had deserted me by the time Eric our Corey Feldman lookalike guide had started jabbering on....
The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The name "Itaipu" was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means "the sound of a stone". The American composer Philip Glass has also written a symphonic cantata named Itaipu, in honour of the structure.
The dam is the largest operating hydroelectric facility in terms of annual generating capacity, generating 94.7 TWh in 2008 and 91.6 TWh in 2009, while the annual generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam was 80.8 TWh in 2008 and 79.4 TWh in 2009. The dam's 14,000 MW installed capacity is second to the Three Gorges Dam's 22,500 MW though. It is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the border section 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 m. In 2008 the plant generated a record 94.68 billion kWh, supplying 90% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 19% of that consumed by Brazil.
Of the twenty generator units currently installed, ten generate at 50 Hz for Paraguay and ten generate at 60 Hz for Brazil. Two 600 kV HVDC lines, each approximately 800 km long, carry both Brazilian and Paraguayan energy to São Paulo where the terminal equipment converts the power to 60 Hz.
All interesting stuff hey!?! I can also add it was bloody massive (will add that to the wiki page when I get a moment). Corey was a little coy when Eddie asked how many people and communities were displaced by the construction and subsequent flooding of the reservoir but apparently it was only a hundred thousand (25 villages) or so, so that's alright!
Once back from our excursion we packed our bags in preparation for the journey to Uruguay : )
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