The Itumbiara Dam is an embankment dam on the

Paranaíba River The Paranaíba River is a Brazilian river whose source lies in the state of Minas Gerais in the Mata da Corda mountains, municipality of Rio Paranaíba, at an altitude of 1,148 meters; on the other face of this mountain chain are the sources of t ...

near

Itumbiara Itumbiara is a municipality in the extreme south of the state of Goiás, Brazil. Its population in 2020 was of 105,809 in a total area of 2,461,3 km2 (2020). Itumbiara is one of the most prosperous cities in Goiás and is a major producer ...

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The dam serves an associated hydroelectric

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

with a installed capacity. The power plant is the sixth largest in Brazil and has the largest installed capacity of Eletrobrás Furnas' power plants.

Background

Between 1963 and 1965, a consortium of U.S., Canadian and Brazilian engineering firms studied and selected sites in Brazil for dams that would assist in developing the region with electricity. Originally, the Itumbiara Dam was to have a shorter height which would accommodate two other dams upstream. A change in plans raised the height of the dam, increasing the reservoir, eliminating the need for the two dams upstream and doubling power production.

Construction

Construction on the dam and power plant began in November 1974 and the river was diverted by September 1, 1976. On October 1, 1979, the reservoir behind the dam began to fill and on September 30, 1979, the left embankment was complete while the right was on November 30 of that same year. The whole dam was completed in April 1980. Despite poor weather along with engineering and technical difficulties, the project was completed on time. 97% of the firms working on the project were Brazilian and 90% of the supplies provided for construction were from Brazil. The dam and power plant was originally estimated to cost $439 million but ended over $716 million when construction was complete. Including the electrical transmission system, the whole project cost just over $1 billion. $125 million for construction was financed by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

Itumbiara Hydroelectric Power Plant

On April 27, 1980, the first generator went online and the last on December 30, 1981 just two weeks after the power house was complete. In 1997, the controls for the plant were switched to remote operation in a central plant in Corumba, leaving the control room unmanned. The power house is wide and long and contains six 347 MW generators that are powered by Francis turbines.

Specifications

The Itumbiara Dam is a long and high earth-fill embankment dam with a concrete

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

and power house section. The earthen portion of the dam contains of earth fill while the concrete portion contains for a total structural volume of . The dam's spillway contains six floodgates that are wide and high each. In total, the spillway has a discharge capacity.

References

{{Authority control Dams completed in 1980 Dams in Goiás Earth-filled dams

Background

Construction

Itumbiara Hydroelectric Power Plant

Specifications

See also

References