This Friday, December 20, marks the 28th anniversary of the official inauguration of the production building of the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant. The emblematic structure, built in 1996, is located in the very center of the plant, between generating units 9 (U09) and 11 (U11).
The production building is made up of six floors. The ground floor is located at the 145-meter mark of the reservoir, with a large hall at the main entrance, an auditorium, a reception center for visitors, the load dispatch room for the 50 and 60 Hz frequencies, administrative offices and rooms for technicians, Itaipu reported.
This sector houses the operating personnel of the hydroelectric plant and is also used for official Binational events. The building was built of reinforced concrete, with its façade made of prefabricated elements, with a smooth concrete finish to match the adjacent concrete structures.
It is worth mentioning that, this year, during the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Itaipu Binacional, the general directors Justo Zacarías Irún (Paraguay) and Enio Verri (Brazil) signed an agreement for the renovation and expansion of the production building.
The project will not only represent the modernization of the emblematic building, but will also provide a better work environment for a large part of the Entity’s technical team, in order to reaffirm the commitment to excellence and the well-being of the Binational’s staff.
Key areas of the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant Production Building
The production building houses two important key areas for the generation and supply of electrical energy: the load dispatch room and the central control room. Inside the hall there are two escalators that lead to the observation area located at level 139.
It has dimensions of 98.50 x 64.00 meters; it has two large spaces for parking vehicles on both sides of an entrance hall that contains an auditorium with 80 seats, three elevators and stairs.
From the first to the fifth floor there is the office area with central sanitary facilities. On the top floor are the meeting rooms for the board of directors and the Itaipu board of directors.
This representative and imposing site, in addition to being one of the nerve centers of the hydroelectric plant, is operated by highly experienced professional engineers and technicians who contribute their knowledge and experience every day to ensure that Itaipu continues to maintain its world leadership in the production of clean and renewable energy.
Itaipu is the largest source of energy for Paraguay, recently being awarded a Guinness World Record for the largest cumulative energy production by any hydroelectric power plant anywhere in the world, over its now 40 years of operation.
