Machadinho Hydroelectric Power Plant

The Machadinho Hydroelectric Power Plant is a 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...

and hydroelectric power plant on the Pelotas River

Pelotas River

The Pelotas River is a river in southern Brazil, and a tributary of the Uruguay River.The river originates in the Serra Geral at Alto do Bispo and flows northeast for before meeting the Canoas River, forming the Uruguay River...

near Machadinho

Machadinho

-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

on the border of Santa Catarina

Santa Catarina (state)

Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...

and Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, 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 power station has a 1,140 MW capacity and is supplied with water by a concrete face rock-fill embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

. It is owned and operated by Machadinho Energetica and produces the equivalent of 37% of the energy consumed in Santa Catarina.

Background

Since 1966 and 1981, a series of studies were carried out on the Machadinho Dam and by 1982 a design was submitted and approved. The plant was slated to being commercial operations in 1993 but the project was delayed because of environmental concerns. The designers reevaluated the project and moved the dam's location further upstream on the river. After a new series of studies and new design were submitted, the project was approved in 1995. Construction began on March 2, 1998 and by October 26, 1999, the river diversion was complete. By August 28, 2001, the dam was near completion and it began to impound the Pelotas River. On February 16, 2002, the first generator began to operate and by August 31, 2002 the dam was completed.

The dam

The Itá Dam is a 700 m (2,296.6 ft) long and 126 m (413.4 ft) high concrete face rock-fill embankment dam

Embankment dam

with a crest elevation of 480 m (1,574.8 ft) above sea level. The dam's reservoir has a capacity of 3300000000 cubic metre, surface area of 79 square kilometre and catchment area of 32500 square kilometre. The dam supports a spillway

Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...

with eight floodgate

Floodgate

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 21.8 m (71.5 ft) wide and 18 m (59.1 ft) tall with maximum capacity of 35703 m3/s.

Power plant

The above ground power station is 130.2 m (427.2 ft) long and 37.5 m (123 ft) wide and contains three 136 ton, 380 MW generators powered by 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....

s. The first generator was commissioned February 16, 2002, the second on April 30 and the final on December 7 of that same year.