Tucurui dam
Encyclopedia
The Tucuruí Dam is a concrete
gravity dam
on the Tocantins River
located on the Tucuruí County in the State of Pará
, Brazil
. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and navigation. It is the first large-scale hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest
. The maximum capacity of the 25-unit plant is 8,370 MW
. Phase I construction began in 1975 and ended in 1984 while Phase II began in 1998 and is ongoing from delays.
The dam was featured in the 1985 film The Emerald Forest
.
commissioned further studies, called the "Tocantins Studies," on the entire Tocantins River Basin. In 1973, Brazilian President Emílio Médici
was asked to assign funding for a dam on the Tocantins. Two options were available: the Tucuruí Dam and Santo Antonio Dam (unrelated to the current Santo Antonio Dam
project on the Madeira river
). In 1973, the Engevix-Ecotec consortium carried out feasibility studies and the Santo Antonio Dam was ruled out in 1974. Later in 1974, the Tucuruí Dam was approved during the President Ernesto Geisel administration.
The dam was built primarily as a source of hydroelectricity and second for navigation between the upper and lower Tocantins River
. The electricity was and is primarily supplied to industrial interests from the aluminum industry like Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
. Communities in Northeast Brazil would also benefit as well, such as Belém
, São Luiz, Marabá
, and later Eastern Amazonia. The World Bank
refused to fund the dam and most of the funding was procured by Eletronorte
and Brazilian institutions such as Eletrobrás
, BNH, Banco do Brasil
, Caixa Econômica Federal
and FINAME. A smaller portion of funding came from Canadian, European and American institutions. In 1975, the consortium formed by the Brazilian companies Engevix and Themag were hired to draw up the basic and executive designs. In 1976, Camargo Correa won the bid to construct the dam.
of electricity.
s measuring 20m x 21m. The 405m x 58m Phase I power house
is concrete and is fitted with an intake and penstock
s. Phase I's power house contains 12 x 330 MW Francis turbine
generators
. An auxiliary water intake and auxiliary powerhouse also houses 2 x 20 MW generators. The dam is designed to support two 210m long and 33m wide navigation locks.
and AIDS
cases. The completion of Phase I in 1984 led to a large amount of unemployment among its 20,000 employees and subsequent migration from the area. The overall large influx of people to the area has led to deforestation and negative impacts from increased cattle-raising. The increases of population have also strained existing infrastructure or lack thereof.
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
gravity dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the Tocantins River
Tocantins River
The Tocantins is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" . It runs from south to north for about 2,640 km. It is not really a branch of the Amazon River, although usually so considered, since its waters flow into the...
located on the Tucuruí County in the State of Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and navigation. It is the first large-scale hydroelectric project in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. The maximum capacity of the 25-unit plant is 8,370 MW
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
. Phase I construction began in 1975 and ended in 1984 while Phase II began in 1998 and is ongoing from delays.
The dam was featured in the 1985 film The Emerald Forest
The Emerald Forest (film)
-External links:* - a British Library recording....
.
Background & history
The initial reconnaissance of the Tocantins River was carried out by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and USAID in 1964. The Amazon Energy Studies Coordination Committee was formed in 1968 and begin hydroelectric project studies in 1969. Before the committee closed, EletrobrásEletrobrás
Eletrobras is a major Brazilian power utility. It's also Latin America's biggest power utility company, tenth largest in the world and is also the fourth largest clean energy company in the world. It is currently expanding its operations in the continent, as well as in Africa. The company's full...
commissioned further studies, called the "Tocantins Studies," on the entire Tocantins River Basin. In 1973, Brazilian President Emílio Médici
Emílio Garrastazu Médici
Emílio Garrastazu Médici, was a Brazilian military leader and politician. His rightist rule from 1969 to 1974, marked the apex of military governments in Brazil.-Early life:...
was asked to assign funding for a dam on the Tocantins. Two options were available: the Tucuruí Dam and Santo Antonio Dam (unrelated to the current Santo Antonio Dam
Santo Antônio Dam
The Santo Antônio Dam is an under construction hydroelectric dam on the Madeira River southwest of Porto Velho in the state of Rondônia, Brazil....
project on the Madeira river
Madeira River
The Madeira River is a major waterway in South America, approximately 3,250 km miles long The Madeira is the biggest tributary of the Amazon...
). In 1973, the Engevix-Ecotec consortium carried out feasibility studies and the Santo Antonio Dam was ruled out in 1974. Later in 1974, the Tucuruí Dam was approved during the President Ernesto Geisel administration.
The dam was built primarily as a source of hydroelectricity and second for navigation between the upper and lower Tocantins River
Tocantins River
The Tocantins is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" . It runs from south to north for about 2,640 km. It is not really a branch of the Amazon River, although usually so considered, since its waters flow into the...
. The electricity was and is primarily supplied to industrial interests from the aluminum industry like Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
Vale S.A. Vale S.A. Vale S.A. (BM&F Bovespa: / , / , / , / , is an Brazilian diversified mining multinational corporation and one of the largest logistics operators in Brazil. In addition to being the second-largest mining company in the world, Vale is also the largest producer of iron ore,...
. Communities in Northeast Brazil would also benefit as well, such as Belém
Belém
Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
, São Luiz, Marabá
Marabá
Maraba is a city in the state of Pará, Brazil. The reference location is the meeting point between two great rivers, forming a sort of "y" in the city as seen from above...
, and later Eastern Amazonia. The World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
refused to fund the dam and most of the funding was procured by Eletronorte
Eletronorte
Eletronorte is a subsidiary of the Brazilian power utility Eletrobrás. It is responsible for the power generation, transmission and distribution in the states of Amazonas, Pará, Acre, Rondônia, Roraima, Amapá, Tocantins and Mato Grosso....
and Brazilian institutions such as Eletrobrás
Eletrobrás
Eletrobras is a major Brazilian power utility. It's also Latin America's biggest power utility company, tenth largest in the world and is also the fourth largest clean energy company in the world. It is currently expanding its operations in the continent, as well as in Africa. The company's full...
, BNH, Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil
Banco do Brasil S.A. is the largest Brazilian and Latin American bank by assets, and the third by market value. The bank, headquartered in Brasília, was founded in 1808 and is the oldest active bank in Brazil — and one of the oldest financial institutions in the world.Banco do Brasil is controlled...
, Caixa Econômica Federal
Caixa Econômica Federal
Caixa Econômica Federal , also referred to as Caixa or CEF, is a Brazilian bank. It is the largest government-owned financial institution in Latin America. It is the largest bank in Brazil and in Latin America by assets....
and FINAME. A smaller portion of funding came from Canadian, European and American institutions. In 1975, the consortium formed by the Brazilian companies Engevix and Themag were hired to draw up the basic and executive designs. In 1976, Camargo Correa won the bid to construct the dam.
Phase I
Construction on Phase I began on November 24, 1975. Phase I called for the construction of the main dam, its dikes, the power house, spillway and upper portion of the navigation locks. On February 1, 1977, concrete-pouring began on site and in September 1978, the river diversion began. On September 6, 1984 the reservoir began filling and 206-days later it was at normal pool. Construction was completed 3-years behind schedule on November 10, 1984. The navigation lock that is part of the dam's design was only partially completed during Phase I with only the upper portion. The construction costs were predicted to be $3.6 billion but rose to over 5.5 billion by construction's end. Including interest during construction, the total cost for Phase I was $7.5 billion. Until 1999, Phase I produced an average of 21,428 TWhTWH
TWH or twh could refer to:*Tennessee Walking Horse, a breed of horse* Toronto Western Hospital, a hospital in Toronto, Canada* TWH Bus & Coach, a bus company in Romford, England* Terrawatt-hour, measure of electrical energy, 1012 watt-hours...
of electricity.
Phase II
Construction on the $1.35 billion Phase II began in June 1998. This phase called for the construction of the new power house for 11 x 375 MW Francis-turbines and the completion of the navigation lock-system. The new power house is located to the left of the old one and the locks are on the north side of the dam's abutments. Phase II was expected to be completed in 2006 but is behind schedule. The second power house was completed in April 2007 but construction on the navigation locks is behind schedule.Specifications
The main portion Tucuruí Dam is a 78 m high and 6.9 km long concrete-gravity dam. The addition of the Mojú and Caraipé earth-fill dikes increases the total length to 12,515 m. The reservoir impounded by the dam has a capacity of 45 km³ with a live volume of 32 km³. The main dam's Creager-type service spillway is the second largest in the world with a maximum capacity of 110,000 m³/sec. It is controlled by 20 floodgateFloodgate
Floodgates are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and canals, or they may be designed to stop water flow entirely as part of a levee or...
s measuring 20m x 21m. The 405m x 58m Phase I power house
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
is concrete and is fitted with an intake and penstock
Penstock
A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydraulic turbines and sewerage systems. It is a term that has been inherited from the technology of wooden watermills....
s. Phase I's power house contains 12 x 330 MW Francis turbine
Francis turbine
The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....
generators
Electrical generator
In electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
. An auxiliary water intake and auxiliary powerhouse also houses 2 x 20 MW generators. The dam is designed to support two 210m long and 33m wide navigation locks.
Impacts
The Tucuruí Dam brought power to 13 million people and 60% of the power is transferred to industries which create just under 2,000 jobs. Between 25,000 and 35,000 people were removed from the future reservoir zone in the early 1980s. 14,000 people were relocated by the government. 3,750 of these people moved to new islands created by the reservoir which lack adequate infrastructure. Construction of the dam attracted migrants which, along with the reservoir, significantly increased malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
cases. The completion of Phase I in 1984 led to a large amount of unemployment among its 20,000 employees and subsequent migration from the area. The overall large influx of people to the area has led to deforestation and negative impacts from increased cattle-raising. The increases of population have also strained existing infrastructure or lack thereof.
See also
- Energy policy of BrazilEnergy policy of BrazilBrazil is the 10th largest energy consumer in the world and the largest in South America. At the same time, it is an important oil and gas producer in the region and the world's second largest ethanol fuel producer....
- List of largest hydroelectric power stations
- List of largest power stations in the world
- List of conventional hydroelectric power stations
- List of dam megaprojects
- List of power stations in Brazil