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The Jirau Dam is a rock-fill dam with an asphalt-concrete core, in the
Madeira River The Madeira River ( ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is the biggest tributary of ...
in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. The dam's hydroelectric power stations 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,Enerdata: First 75 MW turbine commissioned at 3,750 MW Jirau dam
/ref> the 16th in November 2014, 24th in February 2015, the 41st in December 2015, and the last in December 2016. 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 Antônio Dam The Santo Antônio Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Madeira River southwest of Porto Velho in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. The dam's run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station has 50 turbines, each rated at 71.6 MW resulting in a total inst ...
at the city of
Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital (political), capital of the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is 460,434 people (as of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, ...
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 already operating, 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 The Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA) is a development plan to link South America's economies through new transportation, energy, and telecommunications projects. IIRSA investments are expected t ...
, 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 The National Bank for Economic and Social Development or NBESD (, abbreviated: BNDES) is a development bank structured as a federal public company associated with the Ministry of the Economy of Brazil. The stated goal is to provide long-term fi ...
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.


Design

The Jirau Dam is a combination embankment dam with concrete sections for the power stations and spillway. The length of the entire dam is while the embankment section is . The
embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...
is arched, tall and has an
asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...
-core. Its structural volume is of which is asphalt. The dam's spillway consists of 21 gates and has a maximum discharge of . The
run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...
dam's power station contain 50 x 75 MW bulb turbines for a total installed capacity of 3,750 MW. The reservoir created by the dam has a surface area of of which 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 constructed by Energias Sustentáveis do Brasil and Brazilian company
Camargo Correa Camargo may refer to: Places Bolivia * Camargo, Chuquisaca Brazil * Camargo, Rio Grande do Sul Mexico * Camargo Municipality, Chihuahua ** Camargo, Chihuahua, the municipal seat * Camargo Municipality, Tamaulipas * Camargo volcanic field, a volc ...
SA.


Impacts

Brazilian law requires water impoundments to undergo a very thorough approval process to ensure that each project meets environmental, social, political, and safety criteria. However, critics of the Jirau and Santo Antonio dam claim that many legal criteria were rubber-stamped before all questions from impacted groups had been addressed. The dam's social impacts received the majority of substantive criticism (see below). However, environmental groups noted that the fast track approval for the Madeira dams sets a dangerous precedent. Brazilian law allows for expedited licensing for eco-friendly projects described by the Worldwatch institute as "kindler, gentler dams with smaller reservoirs, designed to lessen social and environmental impacts." The Worldwatch Institute insists that no project should "fast-track the licensing of new dams in Amazonia and allow projects to circumvent Brazil's tough environmental laws".


Social

The most frequent objection is that the dam builders failed to adequately consult with indigenous peoples, as required by law. The Brazilian government indigenous protection foundation
FUNAI is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. Currently, it is in liquidation. Apart from producing its own branded electronic products, it was also an OEM providing assembled televisions and video players/recor ...
predicts that there may be un-contacted indigenous populations in the region that will be affected by the Madeira complex. Most of the affected populations are nearest to the Jirau dam. The threat to uncontacted Indians has motivated both internal and external criticism of ESBR, the contractor responsible for building the Jirau dam. A coalition of non-governmental organizations called for dam construction to be halted, and questions were raised during annual meeting of GDF Suez. After more than 10 years in operation, no one single Indian tribe was found in the region impacted by Jirau dam. Moreover, federal prosecutors are suing ESBR (''Energia Sustentável do Brasil''), the company responsible for the dam, the Brazilian Institute of Environment (IBAMA) and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) for the non-accomplishment of some of the conditions previewed by the environmental license and for the indemnification for losses on the traditional fishers' revenues.


Environmental

Because both the Jirau and Santo Antonio dams are run-of-the-river projects, neither dam impounds a large reservoir. Both dams also feature significant environmental re-mediation efforts. As a consequence, there has not been strong environmental opposition to the implementation of the Madeira river complex. However, critics point out that if the fish ladders fail, "several valuable migratory fish species could suffer near-extinction as a result of the Madeira dams." Jirau's environmentally friendly design earned the plant registration under the "
Clean Development Mechanism The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet internat ...
" (CDM) program of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. Jirau is the largest renewable energy plant to earn the CDM, which is awarded to innovative projects that help to solve environmental problems such as climate change.


Labor

Construction on the dam was halted on 18 March 2011 as workers rioted; setting fire to buses and destroying part of the worker housing. Wages and the treatment by security officials was attributed to the rioting. Additional security personal had to be sent to the site and construction was halted. Workers went on strike at Jirau and Santo Antonio in April 2013 after a salary increase proposal was rejected.


Opportunities for Bolivia

Bolivia has been a
landlocked country A landlocked country is a country that has no territory connected to an ocean or whose coastlines lie solely on endorheic basins. Currently, there are 44 landlocked countries, two of them doubly landlocked (Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan), and t ...
since it lost its coastline to Chile in the
war of the pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...
in 1884. Many Bolivians feel a deep and lasting bitterness due to this loss, and the Bolivian military continues to build and maintain an open ocean navy in
Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
, awaiting an eventual recovery of access to the sea. The Madeira river complex presents an opportunity for Bolivia because all of the hydroelectric dams would feature
ship locks A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...
capable of raising and lowering oceangoing vessels. If the project is completed, "more than 4,000 km of waterways upstream from the dams in Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru would become navigable." Hence, if the project is completed, both Bolivian commercial vessels and the Bolivian navy would have access to the open ocean, and lucrative sea lanes, for the first time in 120 years.


Killing of an environmental activist

The body of the Brazilian environmental activist Nilce de Souza Magalhães, also known as ''Nicinha,'' was found on 21 June 2016 in the hydro-power dam's lake of Jirau. Nicinha, leadership of MAB in Rondônia was missing since 7 January 2016. Her body was found only 400 meters away from where she used to live. Her body was found by the workers of the dam, her hands and feet were tied by a rope and tied to a rock. She was known in the region for the struggle in defense of the affected populations, denouncing human rights violations committed by the consortium responsible for the Jirau power plant, called Energia Sustentável do Brasil (ESBR). Nicinha was daughter of rubber extractors who came from the Brazilian state of
Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
to the city of Abuna (near
Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital (political), capital of the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is 460,434 people (as of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, ...
) in Rondonia, where she lived almost fifty years and was evicted along with other fishers due to the construction of the dam. The encampment where they had lived had no access to clean water or electricity. ''Nicinha'' made several complaints over the years, attending public hearings and events, including, pointed out the serious impacts of predatory fishing activity on the
Madeira River The Madeira River ( ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is the biggest tributary of ...
. The complaints generated two civil investigations being conducted by the Federal Prosecutor's Office and the State Prosecutor's Office on the non-implementation of the Program of Support to Fishing Activity and another of criminal character, because of data manipulation in monitoring reports. His killer, Edione Pessoa da Silva, who was in prison after confessing to murder Nicinha, escaped from the State Penitentiary "Edvan Mariano Rosendo", located in Porto Velho (RO) in April 2016.


See also

*
List of power stations in Brazil The following page lists the power stations in Brazil. Coal Gas and oil fired Gas turbines Internal combustion engines Nuclear Hydroelectric Solar Wind See also * Electricity sector in Brazil * Energy policy ...

Jirau and Santo Antônio: tales of an Amazonian war (video documentary)


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Dams in Rondônia