Itaipu
Itaipu is currently the second most powerful power plant in the world. It ranks just behind China’s Three Gorges, which recently surpassed it in overall performance. Both of the most powerful power plants on the planet are hydroelectric power plants.
Itaipu is located on the Paraná River, specifically on the very border of the countries of Brazil and Paraguay. It was built and also operated by a multinational company, not one of the above states. The first construction work was carried out in 1975, and everything was completed quite quickly, in 1982. In this year, the filling of the water reservoir, so important for the proper functioning of the work, began.
The dam of this amazing waterworks is 7919 meters long and 196 meters high. For the production of electricity, this work uses a total of eighteen generators, each of which has a power of up to 730 MW. In total, this means that this power plant can produce more than 75 TWh of electricity every year. It is therefore not surprising that the power plant can cover up to 90% of the consumption of the whole of Paraguay, as far as the much larger Brazil is concerned, it is there and 15% of consumption.
technical parameters Itaipu
| Location | Foz do Iguaçu Hernandarias |
| Country | Paraguay / Brazil |
| Owners | Government of Brazil & Government of Paraguay |
| Opening date | 5. May 1984 |
| Construction began | January 1971 |
| Spillway capacity | 62,200 m3/s |
| Dam volume | 12,300,000 m3 |
| Lenght | 7,919 m (25,981 ft) |
| Height | 196 m (643 ft) |
| Type of dam | Combination gravity, buttress and embankment sections |
| Construction cost | US$19.6 billion |
| Reservoir length | max. 170 km (110 mi) |
| Reservoir width | max. 12 km (7.5 mi) |
| Reservoir capacity | 29 km3 (24,000,000 acre⋅ft) |
| Turbines | 20 × 700 MW (940,000 hp) Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 14 GW (19,000,000 hp) |
Itaipu
