The Itumbiara Hydroelectric Dam is an embankment dam on the Paranaíba River near Itumbiara in Goiás, Brazil. The dam serves an associated hydroelectric power plant with a 2,082 MW installed capacity. The power plant is the sixth largest in Brazil and the has the largest installed capacity of Eletrobrás Furnas' power plants.

Construction of Itumbiara hydroelectric Dam

Construction on the dam and hydroelectric 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. 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. 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. In 1997, the controls for the plant were switched to remote operation in a central plant in Corumba, leaving the control room unmanned. 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.

Specifications of Itumbiara hydroelectric Dam

The Itumbiara Hydroelectric Dam is a 7,000 m (23,000 ft) long and 106 m (348 ft) high earth-fill embankment dam with a concrete spillway and power house section. The earthen portion of the dam contains 31,500,000 m3 (1.11×109 cu ft) of earth fill while the concrete portion contains 1,800,000 m3 (64,000,000 cu ft) for a total structural volume of 33,300,000 m3 (1.18×109 cu ft). The dam's spillway contains six floodgates that are 15 m (49 ft) wide and 9 m (30 ft) high each. In total, the spillway has a 16,000 m3/s (570,000 cu ft/s) discharge capacity. The dam's power house is 25 m (82 ft) wide and 223 m (732 ft) long and contains six 347 MW generators that are powered by Francis turbines.

Itumbiara Dam
Official name Usina de Itumbiara
Locale Itumbiara, Goiás, Brazil
Coordinates 18°24′28″S 49°5′54″W / 18.40778°S 49.09833°W / -18.40778; -49.09833 / -18.40778; -49.09833
Construction began 1974
Opening date 1980
Construction cost $716 million USD
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Embankment
Height 106 m (348 ft)
Length 7,000 m (23,000 ft)
Volume 33,300,000 m3 (1.18×109 cu ft)
Impounds Paranaíba River
Type of spillway Service, gate-controlled
Spillway capacity 16,000 m3/s (570,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates Itumbiara Reservoir
Capacity 17,000,000,000 m3 (6.0×1011 cu ft)
Surface area 778 km2 (300 sq mi)
Power station
Commission date 1980-1981
Turbines 6 Francis-type
Installed capacity 2,082 MW