Tapajos hydroelectric complex
| Tapajós hydroelectric complex | |
|---|---|
Tapajós River
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 Location of São Luiz do Tapajós
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| Official name | Complexo Hidrelétrico de Tapajós |
| Coordinates | 4°36′13″S 56°17′04″W / 4.603722°S 56.2845°WCoordinates: 4°36′13″S 56°17′04″W / 4.603722°S 56.2845°W |
| Status | Proposed |
| Owner(s) | Eletronorte etc. |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Tapajós, Jamanxim rivers |
| Installed capacity | 10,682 MW |
The Tapajós hydroelectric complex (Portuguese: Complexo Hidrelétrico de Tapajós) is a proposed complex of hydroelectric dams on the Tapajós and Jamanxim rivers in the state of Pará, Brazil. The Tapajós dams would contain locks, thus converting the river into a navigable waterway. A "platform" model is proposed under which all people and material would be moved by river or by helicopter, avoiding the need to build access roads and the consequent inflow of settlers and environmental damage. However, there have been protests against flooding of indigenous territory by the dams, and the largest dam seems unlikely to be approved.
The proposed Tapajós hydroelectric complex would impound sections of the Tapajós and Jamanxim rivers. The Tapajós River Hydroelectric Complex would have a total installed capacity of 10,682 MW. Eletronorte estimated that the project would deliver power equivalent to that provided by burning 30.5 million barrels of oil annually. The proposed dams being studied are:
São Luiz do Tapajós would have guaranteed capacity of 4,012 MW from 38 Kaplan turbines. The dam on the Tapajós would be 7,608 metres (24,961 ft) long and 53 metres (174 ft) high and would impound a reservoir of 729 square kilometres (281 sq mi). There would be 17 locks, 19.6 metres (64 ft) wide and 20 metres (66 ft) high, in the spillway. The Jatobá Dam, also on the Tapajós, would be upstream from São Luiz do Tapajós. It would have 2,338 MW capacity, with 1,282 MW guaranteed, from 40 bulb turbines. The dam would be 1,287 metres (4,222 ft) long and 35.5 metres (116 ft) high impounding a reservoir of 646.3 square kilometres (249.5 sq mi). The 40 metres (130 ft) spillway would have 14 locks 18.9 metres (62 ft) wide and 20 metres (66 ft) high. The other three plants under study would be on the Jamanxim River.
The complex may also include the Chacorão (3,336 MW) on the upper Tapajós and the Jardim do Ouro (227 MW) on the Jamanxim. These have not yet been studied in detail.
The dams are part of a plan to convert the Tapajos into a waterway for barges to take soybeans from Mato Grosso to the Amazon River ports. A continuous chain of dams, with locks, would eliminate today's rapids and waterfalls. Legal and constitutional objections may be bypassed through "security suspensions." The Chacorão locks are listed as a priority in the National Waterways Plan (Brazil, MT 2010, p. 22). The dam's reservoir would eliminate the Chacorão rapids, allowing barge traffic above the dam's locks. The controversial Chacorão Dam is rarely discussed in the context of the Tapajós Basin developments, despite its central role in the plan.
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