Post 25: Itaipu Dam
Yesterday we visited the Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam, which is right on the Parana River in Foz do Iguacu. The tour was really cool; we got to see both the inside and the outside of the dam. First, we took a bus tour of the grounds from the outside of the dam. We rode to a few lookout points where we could get a good view of it and took a bunch of pictures.
And here's a good one of me pointing to where I legitimately thought the dam was...
We stopped on top of the dam as well, which was really cool because we could see both the reservoir and the water flowing out of the dam at the same time. You just had to cross the road that goes over the dam.
After this, we got a tour inside. We wore earbuds so that our tour guide could explain everything over the loud turbines. One of the most interesting things about the dam is that it is bi-national, or it powers two countries. The dam supplies nearly all of Paraguay's electricity and about 15% of Brazil's. This means that all the language used inside the power stations on the grounds are a mix of both Spanish and Portuguese. We actually got to see one of the turbines up close. We didn't see the largest part of the turbine, where the water hits it, because this was covered, but we did get to see the top portion spinning super fast.
After the tour of the dam, we visited a few more research centers in Itaipu. First we visited another biogas facility, and then we visited a hydroelectric vehicle center. The coolest thing we saw was a plane powered only by electricity. They also had all types of cars, trucks, and buses.
And here's a good one of me pointing to where I legitimately thought the dam was...
We stopped on top of the dam as well, which was really cool because we could see both the reservoir and the water flowing out of the dam at the same time. You just had to cross the road that goes over the dam.
After this, we got a tour inside. We wore earbuds so that our tour guide could explain everything over the loud turbines. One of the most interesting things about the dam is that it is bi-national, or it powers two countries. The dam supplies nearly all of Paraguay's electricity and about 15% of Brazil's. This means that all the language used inside the power stations on the grounds are a mix of both Spanish and Portuguese. We actually got to see one of the turbines up close. We didn't see the largest part of the turbine, where the water hits it, because this was covered, but we did get to see the top portion spinning super fast.
After the tour of the dam, we visited a few more research centers in Itaipu. First we visited another biogas facility, and then we visited a hydroelectric vehicle center. The coolest thing we saw was a plane powered only by electricity. They also had all types of cars, trucks, and buses.
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