The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The dam is the second largest operating hydroelectric facility in terms of annual energy generation, generating 98.6 in 2013 and 87.8 TWh in 2014, while the annual energy generation of the Three Gorges Dam was 83.7 TWh in 2013 and 98.8 TWh in 2014. It is a binational undertaking run by Brazil and Paraguay at the Paraná River on the border section between the two countries, 15 km (9.3 mi) 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 providing 700 MW each with a hydraulic design head of 118 m. In 2013 the plant generated a record 98.6 TWh, supplying approximately 75% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 17% of that consumed by Brazil. Of the twenty generator units currently installed, ten generate at 50 Hz for Paraguay and ten generate at 60 Hz for Brazil. Since the output capacity of the Paraguayan generators far exceeds the load in Paraguay, most of their production is exported directly to the Brazilian side, from where two 600 kV HVDC lines, each approximately 800 km long, carry the majority of the energy to the São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro region where the terminal equipment converts the power to 60 Hz.

• published: 31 Jan 2015
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