Jirau Dam
| Jirau Dam | |
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 Location of the Jirau Dam in Brazil
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| Official name | Usina Hidrelétrica Santo Antônio Jirau |
| Location | Rondônia, Brazil |
| Coordinates | 9°16′00″S 64°38′57″W / 9.26667°S 64.64917°WCoordinates: 9°16′00″S 64°38′57″W / 9.26667°S 64.64917°W |
| Status | Under construction |
| Construction began | December 2008 |
| Construction cost | US$8 billion |
| Owner(s) | Camargo Correa |
| Operator(s) | Eletronorte |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment, concrete gravity composite |
| Impounds | Madeira River |
| Height | 63 m (207 ft) |
| Length | 1,500 m (4,921 ft) |
| Dam volume | 2,000,000 m3 (70,629,333 cu ft) (embankment) |
| Spillway type | Overflow, 21 controlled gates |
| Spillway capacity | 82,000 m3/s (2,895,803 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Surface area | 258 km2 (100 sq mi) |
| Power station | |
| Operator(s) | Eletronorte |
| Commission date | 2013–2016 |
| Hydraulic head | 15.10 m (50 ft) |
| Turbines | 50 x 75 MW bulb turbines |
| Installed capacity | 3,075 MW 3,750 MW (max) |
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Website www |
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The Jirau Dam is a rock-fill dam with an asphalt-concrete core, currently under construction on the Madeira River in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. The dam's hydroelectric power stations will have 50 turbines each 75 MW resulting total installed capacity of 3,750 MW. The power plant's first unit was commissioned in September 2013, the 16th November 2014, 24th in February 2015 and 41st in December 2015. Most of the power is designed to be exported to south-eastern Brazil via the Rio Madeira HVDC system.
The dam is part of a planned four power plant Madeira river hydroelectric complex, which will consist of two dams in Brazil (3,580 MW Santo Antonio Dam at the city of Porto Velho and Jirau), a third on the border of Brazil and Bolivia, and a fourth station inside Bolivia. Two of these, Santo Antonio and Jirau, are currently under construction, while the smaller upstream dams are still in the planning stages. In part due to the 2001–2002 power shortage in Brazil, construction of both dams was accelerated in 2009. The total estimated cost of the two facilities currently under construction is $15.6 billion ($8 billion for Jirau), including about $10 billion for the civil engineering and power plants, and $5 billion for ship locks, transmission lines, and environmental re-mediation. The Madeira river hydroelectric complex is part of the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America, an effort by South American governments to integrate the continent's infrastructure with new investments in transportation, energy, and communication. Construction on the project was temporary halted in March 2011, February 2012 and April 2013 due to worker riots or strikes.
The Brazilian Development Bank approved an additional US$1.6 billion for the project in September 2012. The extra funding will add six more 75 MW bulb turbine-generators to the power station (a total of 50) and pay for transmission lines.
The Jirau Dam will be a combination embankment dam with concrete sections for the power stations and spillway. The length of the entire dam will be 1,100 m (3,609 ft) while the embankment section will be 800 m (2,625 ft). The embankment dam will be arched, 63 m (207 ft) tall and will have an asphalt-core. Its structural volume will be 2,000,000 m3 (70,629,333 cu ft) of which 17,000 m3 (600,349 cu ft) will be asphalt. The dam's spillway will consist of 21 gates and will have a maximum discharge of 82,000 m3/s (2,895,803 cu ft/s). The run-of-the-river dam's power station will contain 50 x 75 MW bulb turbines for a total installed capacity of 3,750 MW. The reservoir created by the dam will have a surface area of 258 km2 (100 sq mi) of which 135 km2 (52 sq mi) is the original riverbed. Bulb turbines are a variation of the Kaplan turbine, with the main differences being that bulb turbines are installed horizontally and are generally considered to be slightly more efficient. The power plant is being constructed by the French utility GDF Suez SA and Brazilian company Camargo Correa SA.
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