The largest hydroelectric power plant in Brazil. The World's Largest Hydropower Plants: A Thematic Review

The Itaipu hydroelectric power station is located on the Parana River on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, 20 kilometers upstream of the mouth of the Iguazu River and the "triple city" of Puerto Iguacu - Foz do Iguacu - Ciudad del Este. Itaipu is one of the two largest hydroelectric power plants in the world: the second in terms of capacity - 14 GW (it lost the palm after the opening of the Sanxia HPP on the Yangtze with a capacity of 22.5 GW in 2007) and the first in annual electricity generation - according to this indicator (98300 million kW .h) it is slightly ahead of the Chinese station due to the more uniform hydrological regime of the Parana compared to the Yangtze. For comparison, the capacity and annual output of some of our well-known HPPs are as follows: Sayano-Shushenskaya - 6.4 GW and 23,500 million kWh; Krasnoyarsk - 6.0 and 20400, respectively, Bratsk - 4.5 and 22600, Volga - 2.58 and 11100.

Of course, as a person who has been interested in rivers and hydropower since childhood, I knew about the Itaipu hydroelectric power station, but initially it was not part of my plans. But in Iguazu I had two full days and, having looked at the waterfalls in the first of them and completed the “mandatory” program, it was time to think about the “free” program. So, quite by accident, this enthusiastic impromptu arose. In the evening, admiring the night Parana and seeing in the distance on the very, very horizon a long chain of lights of a giant dam, I thought it would be nice to go there. And when I went to the official website of the hydroelectric power station, I was completely on fire with the idea of ​​​​driving across the border for a day to Brazil - it turns out that there is a tourist center at the second Itaipu hydroelectric power station in the world and excursions are freely given to the dam! I think this is a complete exclusive for a hydroelectric power station of this scale! To visit the operating hydroelectric power station is the place of childhood!

The idea to make a forced march to Brazil seized me, and the sortie acquired its final shape on the morning of the second day, when I quite by chance met a taxi driver named Oscar near the hotel - a great man turned out to be and agreed to take me to Brazil to the hydroelectric power station without any problems, wait there for half a day , and then return back to Argentina in the evening. Of course, I would have figured everything out myself, but I must admit, Oscar helped me a lot - both quickly explaining myself at the Argentine-Brazilian border in 30 seconds, and quickly finding an exchanger in a bustling Brazilian city, and just turned out to be a very pleasant sociable person. The only negative is that he doesn’t know a word in English: I had to communicate in an unthinkable language of facial expressions, gestures, associations, some common international words, and a couple of times by drawing visual pictures in my notebook. :)

HPP Itaipu is located 20 kilometers from the "triple city" on the border of Brazil and Paraguay. The design work and the preparatory stage of construction began in 1971, the main stage of construction work was carried out in 1978 - 1982, the riverbed was blocked on October 13, 1982, after which 18 generators with a capacity of 700 MW each were put into operation from 1984 to 1991. . And relatively recently, in 2007, the station's capacity was further increased by putting into operation two additional generators. Itaipu was built jointly by Brazil and Paraguay, it is also operated jointly by the two countries, for which a special company, Itaipu Binacional, was created in 1973. The Itaipu hydroelectric power station plays a colossal role in the economy and energy of the two countries, providing on average 17% of Brazil's total electricity demand and 73% of Paraguay's total electricity. The electricity produced by the hydroelectric power station is divided equally between the two countries (10 Brazilian generators, 10 Paraguayan ones), but since the amount of energy produced by the Paraguayan side significantly exceeds the needs of this small country, a significant part of the "Paraguayan" electricity directly from the hydroelectric power station is exported to Brazil, according to special power line to the area of ​​Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Thus, Brazil uses fully its half of the electricity generated by Itaipu, plus additionally buys part of Paraguay's "surplus" electricity.

The border between Brazil and Paraguay runs along the Parana fairway and, accordingly, exactly in the middle of the concrete dam of the hydroelectric power station - thus, the entire huge complex of Itaipu hydraulic structures is approximately equally located on the territory of these two countries. For convenience and free movement around the station itself, the territory of the hydroelectric complex is a special bilateral transboundary zone, within which you can freely move without any additional border formalities, both in the Brazilian and Paraguayan parts of the hydroelectric complex. And at the entrance to the territory of the hydroelectric power station, both on the Brazilian and Paraguayan coasts, there are tourist centers that organize various excursions to the dam. The Itaipu hydroelectric power station, in addition to its main functions, has been turned into a large tourist and recreational area - there are several parks, a wildlife center, an eco-museum, a modern astronomical center, and numerous souvenir shops and cafes. Of course, all this does not mean that one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world, located in two countries at once, can be freely and permissively wandered around - Itaipu is one of the largest engineering structures in the world and, of course, is seriously guarded, and tourist groups go around the hydroelectric power station on strictly special routes, in accompanied by guides and at the entrance to the territory of the station undergo a thorough inspection. In my opinion, Itaipu is a wonderful example not only of engineering art, but also of how and with what it is possible and necessary to attract tourists to the country, making it more interesting, open and attractive.

1. Tourist center on the Brazilian coast. Here you can easily buy a ticket for the hydroelectric power station. This can also be done without any problems on the Internet at the Itaipu Binacional website.

2. Tourists on Itaipu are offered several options for routes. The basic sightseeing tour (Tourist Excursion) includes visiting the observation decks, as well as several stops at the dam itself. A sightseeing tour of Itaipu is carried out on such large double-decker buses.

But there is another, even more interesting tour (Special Tour), performed less often and in smaller groups. This tour includes, in addition to an external acquaintance with the dam, also a visit to the internal premises of the hydroelectric power station - the engine room, the main control room of the station, and an inspection of the turbines. Of course, it was for this excursion that I bought a ticket.

3. Itaipu is not just the second hydroelectric power station in the world, providing electricity to two countries at once, but also a huge tourist complex that attracts travelers from all over the world.

4. Before leaving for the HPP, tourists gather in the conference hall, where they show a short presentation film about Itaipu. And in the lobby of the tourist center there is a stand, which shows how many tourists from each country in the world have visited the hydroelectric power station in its entire history. Since 1977, 17,244,236 people have visited Itaipu, including 8,010,615 Brazilians, 2,505,567 Paraguayans, 3,679,800 Argentines, 228,992 Americans, 243,266 Spaniards, 12,819 Poles, 25,028 Australians, 948 residents of Saudi Arabia, 6 Armenians8 , 10 Azerbaijanis, 12 Georgians, 4 representatives of the Vatican and 1 person from sunny Somalia. :)

5. I didn’t immediately find Russia in the list of countries, but as it turned out, I was in vain to get excited in advance - it’s just that our country in Portuguese begins with the letter “F”. Well, 8803 people are quite worthy in principle.

6. First short stop - at the observation deck opposite the spillway, built on the right, Paraguayan coast. During flood periods, excess water is passed through the spillways, which the hydroelectric power station cannot pass. The Itaipu spillway is designed for a flow with a maximum discharge of 62,200 m3/s. Now the water is relatively low and the spillway is inactive. But when he is at work - huge jets of water, each in terms of water consumption comparable to the Volga River, falling from a height of a hundred meters, make a tremendous impression.

7. The next stop is at the main observation deck, which offers an excellent panorama of the central part of the hydroelectric complex and the concrete gravity dam 196 meters high. The gravitational dam provides its own stability only due to the force of friction on the base proportional to its own colossal weight. On a reduced scale, gravity-type dams can be compared to a large brick laid across a stream - only in this case, the role of the "stream" is played by one of the largest rivers in the world. Gravity hydroelectric power plants are one of the most reliable and widespread in the world - such are the Three Gorges HPP, Itaipu, our Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, etc.

8. The height of the Itaipu HPP dam is 196 meters (for scale comparison, the height of the Nika Victory Monument on Poklonnaya Gora is only 141.8 m), the width at the base is 400 m, and the total length of the pressure front of the structures is 7235 m.

10. Spillways.

11. This 150-meter channel in the rocks was built at the initial stage of construction of the hydroelectric power station. The entire river bed was temporarily let into it, and in the drained main channel, they began to develop a foundation pit and then build a concrete gravity dam.

12. Administrative building, which houses the central station control room and a number of engineering rooms.

13. The building of the hydroelectric power station on Itaipu is combined with the dam and is located in its lower part for the entire width of the station. Water is supplied to 20 turbines from water intakes in the upper part of the dam through 20 special pressure tunnels 142.2 long and 10.5 m in diameter each. HPPs of this type are called near-dam.

14. Near the main observation deck of the Brazilian coast, there is a beautiful mosaic panel and a statue of some bizarre electric robot.

16. We continue the tour and go directly to the hydroelectric power station, climbing the left-bank rockfill dam.

17. The next stop is on the crest of the hydroelectric power station. A view from a 200 meter height at the hydroelectric power station located below the dam.

18. Freed from the shackles, Parana runs away from the hydroelectric power station. The average flow of water in the river in this section is about 11,600 cubic meters per second, which is one and a half times more than that of the Volga and is approximately equal to our Ob and Amur.

19. Left-bank, Brazilian, power lines.

20. On the crest of the dam ...

21. A crane moving along the top of the hydroelectric power station serving the Brazilian part of the station.

22. General panorama of Itaipu - the building of the hydroelectric power station, the administrative building standing on it and the right-bank Paraguayan pressure structures leading to spillways.

23. Another photo on the ridge, now at the reservoir.

24. The reservoir formed by Itaipu is relatively small for a hydroelectric power station with such a pressure (120 m) - length 170 km, width 7-12 km, average area 1350 sq. km and volume 29 cubic km.

The fact is that a very turbulent section of the river with a large longitudinal slope of the channel used to be located above the hydroelectric power station. There were many rapids on this site, and the Guaira waterfall (or, as the Brazilians called it, Seti Quedas, "Seven Cascades") was the crown of the cascade. The Guaira waterfall was located 140 kilometers above the place where the Itaipu hydroelectric power station was built, was 34 meters high, and in terms of average water flow was the largest waterfall in the world, surpassing Niagara three times. It was a very beautiful, wide and powerful waterfall, the most powerful in the world, but - his fate was to die. Itaipu Reservoir was filled in just two weeks - from October 13 to October 27, 1982. Before flooding, the rocks that made up the waterfall were blown up, and the Guaira National Park was liquidated. In 1982, tens of thousands of people came to say goodbye to the waterfall, and before his death, Guaira brutally took revenge on people - one of the suspension bridges from which tourists admired the waterfall broke off, 82 people fell into the seething gorge and died.

25. We continue the review of the hydroelectric complex from the crest of the dam - in this photo, the right-bank, Paraguayan power lines.

26. Leaving the crest of the dam, we head to the Paraguayan coast, where we make a U-turn and drive to the lower part of the station. The lower road runs along the roof of the power plant adjacent to the dam for its entire width. There are 20 hydraulic units in the HPP building. They are now deep below us.

27. The 140-meter water conduits descending from the top of the dam make a tremendous impression. The diameter of each of these pipes is 10.5 m.

30. We enter the body of a huge concrete gravity dam. Dams of this type have a colossal margin of safety and a huge mass - and to facilitate the design and reduce its cost, the device of voids in the body of the hydroelectric power station has been widely used (classic examples are the Bratsk hydroelectric power station and the Itaipu hydroelectric power station). These voids extend over the entire height of the dam from the very top to the rocky base. Looking down from above makes a tremendous impression - more than 100 meters in height, and deep below you can see the rocky foundation on which the dam stands.

31. Now let's head to the administrative building, where from a special balcony we will look at the holy of holies - the central control point of the hydroelectric power plant.

32. HPP Itaipu is operated jointly by the two countries - and the central control point is located exactly in the middle of the dam and exactly on the border of Brazil and Paraguay. It consists of a Brazilian control post (far) and a Paraguayan control post (near). Exactly in the middle of the room is the desk of the supervisor on duty, who simultaneously controls the work of both the Brazilian and Paraguayan parts of the HPP. And exactly in the middle of the supervisor's table is the state border of the two countries - it is clearly visible in the photo - a thin horizontal black line drawn on the floor in the middle of the hall.

33. Paraguayan control post ...

34. The table of the supervisor who controls the work of both sides and the line of the state border of Brazil and Paraguay passing strictly in the middle of it. Here, however, the bald supervisor himself is not sitting in the middle of the table, but on the Brazilian side - it is strange that the comrades did not see something here. :))))

35. And this is the Brazilian control point and its leader at work.

36. View from the Brazilian side.

38. Tourists watch the central control point of the hydroelectric power station from a special glazed balcony, and the yellow double solid line passing strictly in the middle of it is right, the state border of Brazil and Paraguay. :)

39. In the lobby of the administrative building of the HPP.

40. Here, in the foyer, there are photographs that clearly show the main stages of the construction of Itaipu. The Parana River before the start of construction work.

41. The construction of a side channel in the rocks.

42. The explosion of partitions and the bypass of the main riverbed into the canal.

43. The construction of a concrete dam and a hydroelectric building in a drained channel.

44. Overlapping the entire channel, filling the reservoir.

45. Commemorative plaque - In 2012, Itaipu produced 98,287,128 MWh of electricity. This is a record figure in world practice, according to which the Itaipu HPP still remains the world record holder, surpassing the Chinese Sansya HPP, which generates a maximum of 98,100,000 MW / h per year.

46. ​​General view of the photo gallery, a commemorative plaque and the Brazilian-Paraguayan border, passing exactly in the middle.

47. It's funny that on the Paraguayan part of the hall, the main inscriptions are made in Spanish and are duplicated in Portuguese in smaller print ...

48. And on the Brazilian part - exactly the opposite. "Binacional" - so everything! :)

49. We leave the central hall of the administrative building onto the roof of the hydroelectric power station, adjacent to the lower part of the dam for its entire width. We keep the line of the state border.

50. The roof of the power plant building and a mobile crane serving the Brazilian part of the station.

51. Concrete power! The height of the dam, let me remind you, is 196 meters!

52. Discharge of water and a rainbow in the sun.

53. The mighty Parana running away into the distance - the width of the river here is relatively small, but there is as much water in it as in our Ob and Amur at the mouth. Parana is an unusually swift and powerful river. However, it does not take long for her to rush her waters beyond the Itaipu hydroelectric power station: about 300 kilometers below there is another powerful hydroelectric power station, Yasireta - and also a border one, this time between Argentina and Paraguay.

54. Photo for memory on the roof of the hydroelectric power station exactly on the state border. On the left is Brazil, on the right is Paraguay, and I am in two countries at once. :)

55. Power plant building, hydraulic structures on the Paraguayan side and a mobile crane serving the Paraguayan part of the station.

56. Itaipu in section - a trapezoidal reinforced concrete dam expanding to the bottom, water intakes, conduits and a hydroelectric power station building, in which there is a turbine hall with turbines from the downstream part of the dam. It is in the turbine hall that we will now head.

57. We go down the elevator a few dozen floors down. The Itaipu Engine Room – a look towards Paraguay.

58. I never thought that I would ever visit the technical premises of one of the largest hydroelectric power stations in the world. :)

59. Looking towards Brazil. Under the red circles on the floor of the engine room are 20 hydraulic units, 10 on each side relative to the state border, dividing the huge engine room into two equal parts.

60. We go down a few more floors and get into other technical rooms. Here are the turbines.

61. One of 20 Itaipu hydraulic units. The rotation speed is quite decent - the room is warm, humid and smells of either oil or some other similar substances. In a word, technology! :)

62. It's time to say goodbye to Itaipu - we climb the lower road passing through the building of the hydroelectric power station. Photo of a Paraguayan mobile crane…

63. ... and a 200-meter concrete bulk of the dam.

64. And this is our wonderful guide - a very cheerful and sociable guy who conducted the tour in Portuguese, and especially for me, as the only English-speaking tourist of the group, also in English. This is exactly how I imagined a real Brazilian - and in this yellow jersey, he even looks like some kind of football player. :)

65. It's time to go back ... Today, I crossed state borders an unthinkable number of times - in the morning I arrived from Argentina to Brazil, then during the day I crossed the line of the state border of Brazil and Paraguay at the Itaipu hydroelectric power station fifty times. And here is the final crossing for today - we return “home”, to Argentina. :)

66. I already took pictures today, standing exactly on the border line of Brazil and Paraguay. Why not stop at the Iguazu border bridge and repeat this wonderful experience? So, the border line of Argentina and Brazil, the middle of the border bridge, the Iguazu River and the native red crust with a double-headed eagle. :)

Itaipu is an largest hydroelectric power plant in the world in electricity generation per year. This $15 billion engineering marvel sits on the Parana River on the border of Brazil and Paraguay.

In fact, disputes still do not subside over which hydroelectric power station is really the largest in the world. In December 1997, the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant lost first place to the Chinese Three Gorges hydroelectric power plant. However, despite the larger installed capacity of the Three Gorges HPP, as of 2011, Itaipu generates more electricity per year due to the more even flow regime of the Parana River compared to the Yangtze. (Photo by leeloo):

Getting to know this colossus closer is quite simple. To do this, it is enough to take a regular bus from the town of Foz do Iguacu and drive 20 km to the territory of the hydroelectric power station. At this stand you can find out how many people from which countries of the world have already been here before you. By the way, quite a few Russians have reached these parts… (Photo by leeloo):

The construction of the dam began in 1979, and a year before that, a 150-meter dam was punched in the surrounding rocks. On May 5, 1984, the first hydrogenerator was launched. (Photo by leeloo):

A bit of gigantism: almost 64 million cubic meters were removed during construction. land and rocks, laid 15 million cubic meters. soil and 12.6 million cubic meters. concrete. (Photo by leeloo):

For the construction of this hydroelectric power station, two old enemies, Brazil and Paraguay, had to be reconciled. the construction site of the dam was exactly on the border of the two countries! At the moment, Itaipu covers about 20% of Brazil's electricity needs and almost 93% of Paraguay's! (Photo by leeloo):

Initially, the cost of building Itaipu was estimated at 4.4 billion dollars, but due to the ineffective policy of successive dictatorial regimes, it actually amounted to 15.3 billion dollars! I wonder how much such a construction would cost us (more or less)? (Photo by leeloo):

A few more numbers. The total length of the dam is 7,235 m, width - 400 m, height - 196 m. For comparison, the length of Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, the largest in Russia, is 1,074 m, height - 245 m.

Mega Panorama of Itaipu Dam to understand the dimensions (clickable, 5000×600 px):

The composition of the buildings HPP Itaipu also includes a concrete spillway with a maximum flow of 62,200 m3/s!

After a few kilometers, the water returns to its usual unhurried course of the river ... Brazil is on the left bank, and Paraguay is on the right. (Photo by leeloo):

The HPP has 20 generators with a capacity of 700 MW each. From the reservoir, water enters through these huge pipes and with terrible force breaks down to the turbines of the generators, turning their heavy blades:

The Itaipu hydroelectric power plant has an installed capacity of 14,000 MW (14 gigawatts) and an average annual output of 95 billion kWh! (for comparison: the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP has 6,400 MW and 26.7 billion kWh, respectively).

Engine room. The generators are hidden under these orange circles in the floor:

In this photo: under the floor is a turbine rotating under the influence of a stream of water. Above the ceiling is a generator in which an electric current occurs:

The bulk of the energy destined for Brazil goes to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, providing electricity to 24 million Brazilians.

On the importance of hydroelectric power plants for the region. In November 2009, an accident occurred at the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant. Power lines from the hydroelectric power plant were damaged by a thunderstorm, cutting off power from the plant, causing sections of Brazil's power grid to be shut down in a domino fashion. The power outage affected about 50 million people in Brazil, as well as almost the entire territory of Paraguay, which receives electricity from the Itaipu station.

Water has long been used by people as one of the main sources of energy. The inventions opened up broad prospects for the modernization of agricultural work, and the discovery of electricity and the creation of the first electric generators became a defining milestone in scientific and technological progress. For the first time, a power plant scheme was developed in 1878 in Cragsad (Northumberland) by the English engineer George Armstrong. And the first in the world power station appeared at Niagara Falls in 1881. In our review, we will talk about the most ambitious projects that humanity has managed to implement over the next century.

Today, hydroelectric power plants provide 16% of the world's electricity production, so it is difficult to overestimate their importance for the whole world. Among the leading countries in hydropower are China, Paraguay, Norway, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Venezuela.

The largest power plant in the world is China's Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in Hubei Province. Its capacity is 22,500 MW, its dimensions are 2.335 m in length and 181 m in height. It took so much concrete and steel to build it that 63 Eiffel Towers could easily be built from this amount. The project to create a dam cost the state $ 22.5 billion, and today the Three Gorges is one of the main achievements of engineering in China. Ecologists admit that the construction of the dam negatively affected the life of fish in the Yangtze River, but it significantly reduced the amount of greenhouse gases and dust emitted into the atmosphere, since before that the lion's share of energy was produced by burning coal.

The most powerful power plant in the world "Itaipu"- built on the Parana River on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. Its annual yield averages 91-95 billion kWh, which is much higher than that of the Three Gorges. Hydropower provides 90% of Paraguay's electricity needs and 19% of Brazil's. For the construction of Itaipu, a 150th channel was cut in the rocks, and the main channel of the Parana River was drained. Concrete spent on the construction of this giant would be enough for 210 football stadiums, iron and steel for 380 Eiffel Towers, and the volume of earthen embankment would be 8.5 times the size of the Channel Tunnel.

The power plant closes the top three of world leaders "Guri" in Venezuela. Among the largest should also be called dams "Tukurui"(Brazil), "Grand Cooley"(USA), "Longtan"(China). The Russians, of course, also have something to brag about. Our Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP on the Yenisei River, it ranks 6th in the world among operating power plants in terms of installed capacity. The arch-gravity dam is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most reliable hydraulic structure of this type.

Hydroelectric power plants use the energy of water masses as an energy source, subsequently converting it into electricity. Hydroelectric power stations are built on rivers, taking into account the mass of the moving water flow, on which the net power of the hydroelectric power station depends. To increase the power of a hydroelectric power plant, the flow can be diverted from the channel along a canal or directed using a dam. Regardless of the principle by which the station will operate, each hydroelectric power station is a structure built according to an individual scheme, taking into account the characteristics of the landscape on which it is located. So what are the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world on the list of the most powerful and why? Let's find out!

The most powerful and largest in the world is located in China. It's called Three Gorges. Erected on the Yangtze River in the Chinese province of Hubei. Its installed capacity is not inferior to any hydroelectric power station existing in the world - 22.500 MW! In 2014, Three Gorges broke the world record for average annual power generation of 98.8 billion kWh. In 2018, the hydroelectric plant set another record by becoming the heaviest structure in the world. Its concrete dam alone weighs over 65.5 million tons. With this hydropower plant, China is able to fully cover the annual growth in electricity consumption.

In second place is the Brazilian hydroelectric power station called Itaipu, located next to the island of the same name on the Parana River. The actual installed capacity of Itaipu is 14,000 MW. In 2016, Itaipu broke the Three Gorges record in electricity generation, producing 103.1 billion kWh! The operation of this station satisfies the need for electricity in two countries at once: Brazil and Paraguay. It is curious that the honorable second place in the list of the most powerful hydroelectric power plants in the world, Itaipu, may be ceded to the Chinese Baihetan, which is currently under construction. According to the plan, Baihetan will produce 16,000 MW. Its launch is scheduled for 2021.

In third place among the most powerful hydroelectric power plants in the world is the Chinese Silodu. It was erected on the Jinsha River - the upper reaches of the Yangtze already known to us. Its installed capacity is only slightly inferior to Itaipu, amounting to 13,860 MW. In addition to generating electricity, Silodu is involved in a river water treatment program. At the site of its construction, it controls the flow of water, thereby filtering it from silt. Other iconic features of Silodu include its height - 285.5 m, which makes it the fourth highest hydroelectric power station in the world.

The Brazilian Belo Monti is capable of competing with Silodu. Its design output is 11.233 MW. However, the construction of this hydroelectric power plant throughout its history was constantly fraught with difficulties. In the 70s of the 20th century, a project to build a hydroelectric power station on the Amazon River was rejected due to unfavorable landscape conditions. After the revision, the project was approved, but the money and building permit were received only in 2015. The construction was hampered by protests and rallies from the indigenous tribes living along the Amazon. But even after completing most of the Belo Monti, the founders failed to achieve its full capacity. Now Belo Monti is still under construction, and therefore it does not fall into our top.

The next hydroelectric plant on our list is located in Venezuela. Unofficially, it is called the Guri HPP, after the name of the reservoir on which it is located. The official name was given to her in honor of the national hero of the country - Simon Bolivar. At first, the capacity of Guri was very modest - only 2.065 MW. After completion of the station in 1986, the installed capacity of the station increased to 10.235 MW. The annual electricity generation of the Venezuelan hydroelectric power plant is able to cover the annual needs of a small European country. To give you an idea of ​​how much Venezuela depends on this hydropower plant, let's take an example. In 2013, a fire broke out in the vicinity of Guri, due to which several states of the country were left without electricity! In addition to powering 2/3 of Venezuela, Guri supplies electricity to neighboring countries: Colombia and Brazil.

Another station that belongs to the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world is Tucurui in Brazil. Its construction began in 1976 on the territory of the city of the same name. Subsequently, the town was moved a little downstream of the river so that the noise produced by the dam would not disturb the residents. Plus, having a large area for development, Tukurui expanded over time and increased its capacity. Now it boasts a capacity of 8.370 MW! The dam of the power plant is really huge: it stretched across the Tocantins River for 11 km. In addition to its power and length, Tukurui boasts its capacity: it discharges 120 thousand cubic meters of water, and this is the highest capacity in the world!

Closes our top station "Grand Cooley" in the United States. For the United States, it is the largest in the country. It was erected on the Columbia River, Washington. In addition to its native Washington, "Grand Cooley" powers the neighboring nine states, including such large ones as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Like many hydroelectric plants built in the 60s, the Grand Coulee was subsequently completed and expanded. Now its installed capacity is 6.809 MW. For the United States, this hydroelectric power plant is so significant that even songs are dedicated to it. For example, "Grand Coulee Dam" performed by Woody Guthrie. And no wonder! This station is twice as high as the famous Niagara Falls, and from 1949 to 1960 it was considered the most powerful in the world.

You can judge hydroelectric power plants not only by their power - the area occupied is also important. Below we have given a list of hydroelectric power plants with the largest reservoirs in the world:

1. Churchill's Falls is a Canadian hydroelectric power station built on the river of the same name. The total area of ​​its reservoir is a record 6.988 km2.
2. "Zhigulevskaya" - built on the famous Volga River. The area of ​​its reservoir is only slightly inferior to the leader of the top and is 6.450 km 2.
3. Bratskaya is another station originally from Russia. It stands on the Angara River and forms one of the world's largest reservoirs with an area of ​​5.426 km2.
4. "Guri" is a hydroelectric power station already familiar to us from Venezuela with a reservoir area of ​​\u200b\u200b4.250 km 2.
5. "Volzhskaya" is another record holder from Russia, built on the same Volga River in the Volgograd region. The reservoir of this hydroelectric power station occupies 3.117 km 2.

Itaipu is the largest hydroelectric power plant in the world in terms of electricity generation per year. This $15 billion engineering marvel sits on the Parana River on the border of Brazil and Paraguay.

In fact, disputes still do not subside over which hydroelectric power station is really the largest in the world. In December 1997, the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant lost first place to the Chinese Three Gorges hydroelectric power plant. However, despite the large installed capacity of the Three Gorges HPP, as of 2011, Itaipu produces more electricity per year due to the more even flow regime of the Parana River compared to the Yangtze.

The construction of the dam began in 1979, and a year before that, a 150-meter dam was punched in the surrounding rocks. On May 5, 1984, the first hydrogenerator was launched.

Almost 64 million cubic meters were removed during construction. land and rocks, laid 15 million cubic meters. soil and 12.6 million cubic meters. concrete.

For the construction of this hydroelectric power station, two old enemies, Brazil and Paraguay, had to be reconciled. the construction site of the dam was exactly on the border of the two countries! At the moment, Itaipu covers about 20% of Brazil's electricity needs and almost 93% of Paraguay's!

Initially, the cost of building Itaipu was estimated at 4.4 billion dollars, but due to the ineffective policy of successive dictatorial regimes, it actually amounted to 15.3 billion dollars!

The total length of the dam is 7235 m, width - 400 m, height - 196 m. For comparison, the length of the largest in Russia Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP is 1074 m, height - 245 m.

The structures of the Itaipu HPP also include a concrete spillway with a maximum flow of 62,200 cubic meters per second!

After a few kilometers, the water returns to its usual unhurried course of the river ... Brazil is on the left bank, and Paraguay is on the right.

The HPP has 20 generators with a capacity of 700 MW each. From the reservoir, water enters through these huge pipes and with terrible force breaks down to the turbines of the generators, turning their heavy blades:

The installed capacity of the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant is 14,000 gigawatts, and the average annual output is 95 billion kWh (for comparison, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP has 6,400 GW and 26.7 billion kWh, respectively).

The bulk of the energy destined for Brazil goes to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, providing electricity to 24 million Brazilians.

On the importance of hydroelectric power plants for the region. In November 2009, an accident occurred at the Itaipu hydroelectric power plant. Power lines from the hydroelectric power plant were damaged by a thunderstorm, cutting off power from the plant, causing sections of Brazil's power grid to be shut down in a domino fashion. The power outage affected about 50 million people in Brazil, as well as almost the entire territory of Paraguay, which receives electricity from the Itaipu station.

The muddy waters of the reservoir from the reverse side:

Under the floor is a turbine that rotates under the influence of the flow of water. Above the ceiling is a generator in which an electric current occurs.

Specialists from Paraguay and Brazil monitor the work of this complex system in shifts. The border between the countries runs exactly in the middle of the room where the control panel is located.

The result of their work is a world record for the generation of electricity for the year, marked by the results of 2008.