The Marimbondo Dam is an embankment dam on the Grande River near Fronteira in

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

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 Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

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 generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

with a installed capacity.

Background

Owned and maintained by

Eletrobrás Furnas Eletrobras Furnas (Furnas – Centrais Elétricas SA) is a regional power utility and a major subsidiary of Eletrobras. The company generates or transmits electricity to 51% of households in Brazil and more than 40% of the nation's electricity pass ...

, the dam was their fourth power plant constructed. Construction began in 1971 and was complete in 1975 when the first generator went online. The last of the eight generators went online in January 1977.

Specifications

The Marimbondo Dam is a long and high earth-fill

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

with a concrete spillway and

power house Powerhouse or power house may refer to: * Power station, a facility (or former facility) for the generation of electric power Businesses * Powerhouse (shop), a former electrical goods chain in the United Kingdom * Powerhouse Animation Studios, a ...

section. The total structural volume of materials for the dam is . The dam's spillway contains nine floodgates that are wide and high each. In total, the spillway has a discharge capacity.

Reservoir

The

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

created by the dam has a surface area of and capacity of with serving as live (active or "useful") storage. The normal reservoir level is above sea level and the maximum is .

Marimbondo Hydroelectric Power Plant

Marimbondo Hydroelectric Power Plant is wide and long and contains eight generators that are powered by

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

References

{{Rio Grande (Brazil) dams , dam=Marimbondo Dam, downriver=

Água Vermelha Dam The Água Vermelha Dam is an embankment dam on the Grande River near Iturama in Minas Gerais/São Paulo, Brazil. It was constructed for hydroelectric power production and flood control. Construction on the dam began in 1973 and it was completed a ...

, upriver=

Porto Colômbia Dam Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Dams completed in 1975 Dams in Minas Gerais Earth-filled dams Dams on the Rio Grande (Paraná River tributary)

Background

Specifications

Reservoir

Marimbondo Hydroelectric Power Plant

See also

References