Seven Modern wonders of the world
Seven Modern wonders of the world : Channel
Tunnel | CN Tower |
Empire State Building
| Golden Gate Bridge
| Itaipu Dam | Delta
Works | Panama Canal
Itaipu Dam
Itaipu is a hydroelectric dam on the Parana River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay.
The name "Itaipu" was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. Itaipu, from the Guarani language, means "singing stones". The American composer Philip Glass has also written a symphonic cantata named Itaipu in honour of the structure.
Itaipu Binacional is a company that runs the largest operational hydroelectric power plant in the world . It is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the border section between the two countries, 15 km north of the Friendship Bridge. The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto del Guairá in the north. The installed generation capacity of the plant is 14 GW, with 20 generating units of 700 MW each. In the year 2000 it achieved its generating record of 93.4 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), which supplied 93% of the energy consumed by Paraguay and 20% of that consumed by Brazil as of 2005.
Social Impact
When construction of the dam began, aproximately 10,000 families living beside the Parana river were dislodged from their plots in order to make way for the dam. Many of these families sought refuge in the town of Medianeira, a town not far from the confluence of the Iguacu and Parana rivers. Some of these families eventually came to be members of one of Brazil's largest social movements, the MST, or Landless Worker's Movement.
|
|
