THE Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Planton the border between Brazil and Paraguay, the first phase of the pilot project of a floating solar island, which will generate clean energy for internal use of the installation, ended at the border.
The venture consists of the assembly and anchor of 1,568 photovoltaic panels in the Paraná River reservoir bed, which provides the water that rotates the 20 turbines of Itaipu and generate electricity. The first phase ended on September 26 and was informed by the company on Friday (3).
THE Solar island occupies an area of 7,600 square meters (m²), the equivalent of almost a soccer field. The next step of the pilot project is, in the next two weeks, the installation of the latest equipment and the connection of power and communication cables, and then starting cold (without power generation) and hot (with energization) tests.
The company’s estimate is for the operation to start in November, with a generation of 1 MWP (Megawatt-Pep), a unit of measure for the maximum power generation capacity. This clean energy is equivalent to supply 650 houses and will be used for the plant’s own consumption.
Term
THE Brazil agency He visited the venture at the end of July, when the construction was 60% ready. At the time, the forecast was the delivery of the project in September.
However, engineer Márcio Massakiti Kubo, from the Superintendence of Renewable Energy, explains that “the schedule has suffered minor adjustments due to rainfall and the need to ensure workers’ safety and hydroelectric operation.”
He adds that the assembly requires special care because it is close to the spillway (structure to release excess water in the reservoir) and the nautical area of operative safety of the plant.
The investment is US $ 854.5 thousand (about R $ 4.5 million). The works are carried out by the Binational Consortium formed by the companies Sunluration (Brazilian) and Luxacril (Paraguayan), winner of bidding.
Assessment
Once the operation is started, the solar island will go through a period of one year of assessment on technical viability, benefits and possible environmental impacts. The analysis will serve to subsidize decisions about system expansion.
Itaipu estimates point out that 1% reservoir coverage can generate up to 3.6 TWH per year – the equivalent of about 4% of the annual hydroelectric production in 2023.
According to the company, from an environmental point of view, “no significant impacts were identified in the specialized literature, which encouraged the project.”
The pilot project foresees continuous monitoring to evaluate any effects on biodiversity, such as changes in poultry and fish habitat, water quality, algae flowering, among other impacts.
Enlarged capacity
During the view of Brazil agency, The Superintendent of the Itaipu Renewable Energy Advisory, Rogério Meneghetti, estimated that if in the future Itaipu could cover 10% of the reservoir with solar plates, it will be possible to generate 14 thousand MW, which means to double the current capacity of the company, which would no longer be a hydroelectric dam.
However, he considered that not all areas of the reservoir can be used. They are left out, for example, navigation and fish breeding areas.
Production record
Responsible for about 9% of the production of electricity consumed in Brazil, the Itaipu hydroelectric dam is a binational project that involves Brazil and Paraguay. On the Brazilian side of the plant is in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná.
On September 5, the hydroelectric dam reached the historical mark of 3.1 billion megawatts-hours (MWh) produced since it went into operation in 1984.
To be aware, the production of 3.1 billion MWh is sufficient to supply the whole world for 44 days or Brazil for six years and one month.
In addition to hydroelectric power, the venture does research to expand the production of renewable energy, such as green hydrogen and biofuels. One of the initiatives involves turning smuggling seizure into biogas.
