Installed capacity of 3,150 MW

When the Santo Antônio Plant comes into operation in 2011 it will be the third-largest plant in Brazil in terms of assured energy with an installed generating capacity of 3,150.4 megawatts - equivalent to 4% of all the energy generated in the country in 2007. This is enough to supply the needs of 11 million people, assuming that each home uses 148kW/h per month (average Brazilian consumption). This energy (enough to provide power to the population of the city of São Paulo) is fundamental to sustain Brazil’s economic development in the future.

Forty-four bulb turbines will be needed to provide the assured energy from this, the third-largest hydroelectric plant in Brazil. These turbines are ideal for hydroelectric projects in fast flowing rivers with a low fall, as it is the case of the River Madeira.




The use of these turbines will take the flooded area to 271 km², a little higher than natural channel of the River Madeira. This will give the Santo Antônio HEP a ratio of flooded area per megawatt of installed capacity of 0.09.

The Santo Antônio HEP will be linked to Brazil´s SouthEast/MidWest Electricity System through two continuous current transmission lines of around 600 kV. These will cover 2,375 km and be the largest in operation in the world..

How do the bulb turbines function?

The local conditions of the River Madeira led to the choice of generation technology known as the "run of river" system which adopts the bulb turbines (of which there will be 44). These are moved by the river´s natural flow and speed. This means there is no need to create large falls of water and creates much less damage to the Amazon forest and the communities living in the area.

Each turbine is a power house which generates energy through the flow of the water. The Santo Antônio models will have the hydraulic generator installed within a bulb where the water turns the propellers (see figure above). Generally speaking, the rotating movement of this combination of blades turns a rotor within the turbine which transforms the hydraulic power into mechanical power. A series of structures in the generator transforms the mechanical energy into electrical energy..