With engineers calling it "the most daring project under way in Brazil", the Belo Monte Dam in Amazonia, will have a year operating capacity of 4,500 megawatts, which was rediced to a third of its initial installed capacity of 11,233 MW, as a result of environmental restrictions that led to the reduction of the reservoir's size. The $8.74 billion project is expected to be soon complete so that the dam operated in 2016.
With construction works occurring at four different independent sites, located 40km to 50km apart, the Belo Monte Dam will operate with the natural flow of the Xingu River in Amazonia, with the supplied hydroelectric power making up almost 10% of Brazil's national energy consumption. Even though the size of the reservoir was reduced from 1,600 sq km to 503 sq km, to comply with restrictions posed by environmental and local regulators, the dam is the third largest hydropower complex worldwide after Three Gorges in China and Itaipu Dam between Brazil and Paraguay.
The 20km bypass tunnel measures 210m at its base, 300m at the crest and is 25m deep. For its construction about 126 million cubic meters of material were excavated, making up half the volume required for the original Panama Canal. In total, 28 embankments or levees are or will be constructed for the project, this being translated to nearly 27 million cubic meters of landfill. In addition, the mobilized workforce for the construction of the project is a record number. According to Norte Energia, the dam's concessionaire company, maximum workforce reached 33,000 in the middle of last year.
Source: ENR.com
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