The Construction Project: Itaipu Dam - Case Study Example

RUNNING HEAD: Itaipu Dam Student Name Student Number Unit Title/Number Itaipu Dam Due Date Unit Coordinator Introduction Itaipu dam is the world largest hydroelectricity dam which has a capacity of 14 GW. The dam is located in the border between Brazil and Paraguay in River Parana. The energy generated is utilized by the two countries as agreed through a treaty. The dam was constructed in the year 1974 at a cost of 19.6 billion U.S dollars. The plant conception began in 1971 through a treaty signed by the two countries which came up with maximum number of generating units as 18 and two reserve units. The dam presents political, environmental and engineering study case due to its capacity and location. Looking at it from the political side, the dam is owned by two countries with unequal wealth and population. Brazil is more economically empowered than Paraguay and has a higher population. The engineering perspective is brought about by the design and materials used which has made this dam the seventh wonder of the world (Pope, 1995). (Stefan, 2011) The Itaipu Dam Environmental Issues The project construction brought a lot of environmental issues during its implementation. These issues included destruction of rare plants species such as fruit trees among other vegetation in the site. The area that was occupied by the dam made more than 10,000 people to be relocated who brought about ethical and compensation related issues. The initial construction stages of the project brought about environmental degradation Carolina, et al., 2003). This called for efforts to save the endangered plant species and forests; Binacional authority did its best and salvaged forests which were bound for destruction. It’s through these efforts that more than 50 percent of the environment that was bound to be lost was managed. The Paraguan and Brazilian governments issued precautions which helped to curb the damage that had been caused by the implementation of the project. Description and Construction This plant took eighteen years to complete and used an estimated 18 billion U.S Dollars. The Itaipu Binacional which is a joint Paraguan and Brazilian government commission was mandated to run the dam. The dam structure stretches 4.8 miles across river Parana and has the highest height of 643 ft (Carolina, et al., 2003). The dam consists of reservoir 125 miles in length and can hold 23.5 million acre of water. This great project has attracted several local, state and national governments of Paraguay and Brazil in addition to multinational corporations in investment. Other governments that have invested in this project include the U.S, Argentina and Italy. The production of energy from the dam has risen over the years as shown by the statistics below (Fernando Almeida Prado Jr, 2013). Year No of generators installed Annual production of energy GWh 1987 6-9 35,807 1988 9-12 38,508 1989 12-15 47,230 1990 15-16 53,090 1991 16-18 57,517 1992 18 52,268 1993 18 59,997 1994 18 69,394 1995 18 77,212 1996 18 81,654 1997 18 89,237 1998 18 87,845 1999 18 90,001 2000 18 93,428 2001 18 79,300 2004 18 89,911 2005 18 87,971 2006 19 92,690 2007 20 90,620 2008 20 94,684 2009 20 91,652 2010 20 85,970 2011 20 92,246 2012 20 92,287 Total 20 2.037.050 Engineering Perspective Looking at the engineering perspective of the dam, this is one of the most amazing civil engineering works that have ever been done. The project started with diversion of the Parana River which is one of the largest rivers in the world. Looking at the task that was involved in diversion, it’s clear that this was an enormous task. Construction involved the engineering team setting four rick crushing centers which were located on the both sides of river. The rock crushing sites had a capacity of 2430 t/ h. the site also had six concrete mixing plants which had to supply enough concrete. The dam utilized more than 12.3 million cubic meters of concrete (Richard & Louise, 2007). This amount of concrete required skills to make sure that appropriate mixing ratio was used to avoid compromising the strength of the dam strength. This in addition to the reinforcing materials used was a vital part in the design. A lot of excavation was also carried out in the dam space which is said to be over 8.5 times that of channel tunnel. In completion, the dam gave Brazil a position as one of the biggest producers of hydroelectricity. The following statistics shows Brazil ranking among other countries with high amount of hydro power. Country Hydroelectricity production (TWh) 2010 Share from Hydroelectricity (%) China 694 14,8 Brazil 403 80,2 Canada 376 62,0 United States 328 7,6 Russia 165 15,7 India 132 13,1 Norway 122 95,3 Japan 85 7,8 Venezuela 84 68,0 Sweden 67 42,2 On the other hand, the dam had great environmental repercussions on wildlife, aquatic life, soil and air. In the year 1974, 85% of the Paraguayan forest had been destroyed and due to massive degradation of the regions natural habitats. Plans on how to recover the forest were discussed (Martin, 2004). First, one was coming up with the forest inventory committee by the institute of forests at the federal university of Parana Brazil. The committee was charged with mandate of knowing the forest structure, vegetation, type of natural trees in the forest and the land affected by dam. Overview of the dam (Stefan, 2011) From this study came the forest management project that was charged with responsibility of maintaining a system of ecological equilibrium and also determining the sustainability of the objects that were collected during the first attempt of saving environment (Richard & Louise, 2004). In addition, they were to familiarize themselves with the type of the soil in the forest; the type of soil near a river should always have the highest water holding capacity and should be poorly when it comes to drainage. In 1978, the forest inventory committee and the Itaipu Binacional came up with automatic ecological alarm for the Itaipu region. Mymba Kuera and Gralha Azul Prorams To cater for the vegetation and animals in the area, the Itaipu authorities implemented two innovative programs. These programs were to act as measures to curb degradation of environment. The programs were the "Mymba Kuera" and "Gralha Azul" by the authority. The "Mymba Kuera" project looked on the ways of reducing the adverse effects of flooding on the fauna in the region. This project involved catching the animals affected and releasing them into the biological reserves (Martin, 2007). The "Gralha Azul" was another measure taken to protect the nature. This focused on creating a protective reservoir zone on the Brazilian side. First, by looking at the "Gralha Azul” project, the forest protective reservoir succeeded. This is despite the loss of over 700 square kilometers of the forest which was negatively affected by the dam implementation. The major loses were experienced on the Paraguan side which lost almost all the forest land. This involved extinction of some of the indigenous plant types such as orchid (Richard & Louise, 2004). The Binacional efforts of setting up the project retarded forest extinction which the massive construction had started. The "Mymba Kuera” program was initiated to curb the flooding effects on the environment in the region by catching animals and later setting them free in the biological reserves which had been designed (Martin, 2004). This program was launched in 1977 where an inventory of birds, mammals, insects and reptiles was set to use as a base for future project. The results were that the biological reserve which was created by the end of 1978 had caught 27,150 animals. The inventory that was made on the same showed the Paraná River fish resources. The inventory identified 129 species in which 44 species lived above and below Salto Del Guavra, 13 lived above it and 60 below it. The area above Salto Del Guavra had more quantity of fish but had less species where the reverse happened below it (Martin, 2004). Agreement and Completion Both countries were aware of the energy potential of the river which made some disagreement to arise on the project on who should pocess it. In the year 1966, the two countries split the project into two halves between the Brazilian and Paraguay governments. Later an agreement was drawn that detailed the creating the dam. The dam consists of Ande and Electrobras which is Brazil national electricity company. This Hydro power project can only be compared with the Three Gorges Project in China. The massive project sets records for number of people displaced during construction. Just like the Itaipu dam, the Three Gorges Project of China needed careful engineering design and choice of materials and equipment (Shiu-hung & Joseph, 2004). The project also has a number of environment effects similar to those of Itaipu Dam. Conclusion Analyzing the Itaipu dam in the engineering aspect and its environmental impacts gives insight into a lot of information as this paper has revealed. It’s evident that the project resulted in the presentation of one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the most celebrated and expensive engineering works undertaken. In its engineering perspective, the complexity of the project and its expansive nature called for accurate engineering design and the correct choice of equipment and materials. Right from the commencement of the project, there were certain impacts that included eviction of residents, environmental destruction in terms of clearing forests, among others. The positive effects of the dam construction outweigh the negatives; Itaipu dam has helped the economy of Brazil and Paraguay to a great extent. The dam also present one of the most successful engineering projects ever carried out. References Carolina, B., et al. (2003). Sustainable water management in the tropics and subtropics – and case studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fernando Almeida Prado Jr, S. B. (2013). Capacity factors of Brazillian hydroelectric power plants: implications of cast effectiveness. Florida: Public Utility Research Center. Martin, W. (2004). New Developments in Dam Engineering: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Dam Engineering, 18-20 October, Nanjing, China. Nanjing: Technology & Engineering Pope, T. (1995). The seven wonders of the modern world. Popular Mechanics, p. 48–56. Richard, S. and Louise, S. (2007). The Pros and Cons of Water Power. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. Shiu-hung L. and Joseph, B. (2004). Megaproject: A Case Study of China's Three Gorges Project. London: M.E Sharpe. Stefan, K. (2011). Itaipu Dam. Retrieved 12th August 2013 from http://www.solar.coppe.ufrj.br/itaipu.html Read More

Looking at the task that was involved in diversion, it’s clear that this was an enormous task. Construction involved the engineering team setting four rick crushing centers which were located on the both sides of river. The rock crushing sites had a capacity of 2430 t/ h. the site also had six concrete mixing plants which had to supply enough concrete. The dam utilized more than 12.3 million cubic meters of concrete (Richard & Louise, 2007). This amount of concrete required skills to make sure that appropriate mixing ratio was used to avoid compromising the strength of the dam strength.

This in addition to the reinforcing materials used was a vital part in the design. A lot of excavation was also carried out in the dam space which is said to be over 8.5 times that of channel tunnel. In completion, the dam gave Brazil a position as one of the biggest producers of hydroelectricity. The following statistics shows Brazil ranking among other countries with high amount of hydro power. Country Hydroelectricity production (TWh) 2010 Share from Hydroelectricity (%) China 694 14,8 Brazil 403 80,2 Canada 376 62,0 United States 328 7,6 Russia 165 15,7 India 132 13,1 Norway 122 95,3 Japan 85 7,8 Venezuela 84 68,0 Sweden 67 42,2 On the other hand, the dam had great environmental repercussions on wildlife, aquatic life, soil and air.

In the year 1974, 85% of the Paraguayan forest had been destroyed and due to massive degradation of the regions natural habitats. Plans on how to recover the forest were discussed (Martin, 2004). First, one was coming up with the forest inventory committee by the institute of forests at the federal university of Parana Brazil. The committee was charged with mandate of knowing the forest structure, vegetation, type of natural trees in the forest and the land affected by dam. Overview of the dam (Stefan, 2011) From this study came the forest management project that was charged with responsibility of maintaining a system of ecological equilibrium and also determining the sustainability of the objects that were collected during the first attempt of saving environment (Richard & Louise, 2004).

In addition, they were to familiarize themselves with the type of the soil in the forest; the type of soil near a river should always have the highest water holding capacity and should be poorly when it comes to drainage. In 1978, the forest inventory committee and the Itaipu Binacional came up with automatic ecological alarm for the Itaipu region. Mymba Kuera and Gralha Azul Prorams To cater for the vegetation and animals in the area, the Itaipu authorities implemented two innovative programs.

These programs were to act as measures to curb degradation of environment. The programs were the "Mymba Kuera" and "Gralha Azul" by the authority. The "Mymba Kuera" project looked on the ways of reducing the adverse effects of flooding on the fauna in the region. This project involved catching the animals affected and releasing them into the biological reserves (Martin, 2007). The "Gralha Azul" was another measure taken to protect the nature. This focused on creating a protective reservoir zone on the Brazilian side.

First, by looking at the "Gralha Azul” project, the forest protective reservoir succeeded. This is despite the loss of over 700 square kilometers of the forest which was negatively affected by the dam implementation. The major loses were experienced on the Paraguan side which lost almost all the forest land. This involved extinction of some of the indigenous plant types such as orchid (Richard & Louise, 2004). The Binacional efforts of setting up the project retarded forest extinction which the massive construction had started.

The "Mymba Kuera” program was initiated to curb the flooding effects on the environment in the region by catching animals and later setting them free in the biological reserves which had been designed (Martin, 2004). This program was launched in 1977 where an inventory of birds, mammals, insects and reptiles was set to use as a base for future project.

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