The construction of the project

The construction of the Santo Antonio Hydroelectric Plant is being made at an investment of R$ 15.1 billion and should be totally concluded by 2015. However the HEP will begin to operate gradually from December 2011 as its turbines are mounted and installed. More than 10,800 direct workers will be involved at the height of the works in 2011.

The construction of this project has been undertaken by a consortium (formed by the construction companies Norberto Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez, Alstom Hydro Energia Brasil Ltda., Bardella S.A. Indústrias Mecânicas, Areva Transmissão e Distribuição de Energia, Siemens Ltda., VA Tech Hydro Brasil Ltda. and Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation Ltda.). Work began on the right bank of the River Madeira, in Porto Velho (RO), in September 2008 - around a month after the installation license was granted by Ibama on August 18. The Santo Antônio Plant will be built in eight stages and use the most modern technology. There will be two working areas, one on each bank of the River Madeira.

The first stage took place at the end of 2008 shortly after the completion of the archeological diggings and partial cutting in the Santo Antônio Energia sustainable area. The stretch of the river from the right bank to the Ilha do Presídio island was isolated with the construction of cofferdams, i.e. temporary landfills to keep the riverbed worksite dry. Excavation work began on the rocky foundation of this area in the stretch where the first of the four groups of power houses of the Santo Antônio Hydroelectric plant will stand. This is where the first generating unit (bulb-type turbines) will begin to operate in December 2011. Three power houses will supplement the spillways on this bank and ensure that the excess water in the reservoir will be discharged. The laying of the concrete itself in this circuit should begin in the second semester of 2009.

Left bank
The operation to clean the area and construct the worksite on the left bank and excavate the main spillway with 15 empty spaces got underway at the start of 2009. The second and third groups of generators housing 24 turbines will be constructed nearby on the left shoulder. The big difference inn the works on this stretch (where turbines 09 to 32 will be located) is that the most of excavation will be carried out without the need to create large cofferdams.

When the first turbines begin to generate energy in 2011, the main spillway (built on the left bank) will open its floodgates for the river to be diverted and the last 12 turbines installed (in the middle of the river in the central part of the hydroelectric plant). This stage will be carried out where the central channel of the River Madeira is located today. Other cofferdams will be built on a larger scale than those built previously to allow this work to proceed.

Other structures
Other important structures will also be built parallel to the main construction:

The Fish Transposition System - The fish swim against the current as they search for better and safer places to reproduce every year. This construction located on the left bank of the River and in the Ilha do Presídio island will ensure that the fish will not have their life cycle affected by the construction of the hydroelectric plant and allow them to swim through the work area and reach the reservoir region.

Log interceptor - The Santo Antônio HEP will have a large structure on the surface of the reservoir located upstream from the small dam of the Generation Circuit. This will be fixed by concrete columns on the river bed, and prevent logs and other floating objects from hitting the turbines and damaging the underwater equipment.


Curiosities
•  The Santo Antônio Hydroelectric Plant will be the sixth largest in Brazil in terms of installed power  (after Itaipu, Tucuruí, Ilha Solteira, Jirau and Xingó) and the third in assured energy;

•  The electrical energy produced annually will be equivalent to 4.3% of the total generated in Brazil in 2007;

•  Its generation will be enough to supply the needs of 11 million Brazilians (considering the average consumption), which is equivalent to the population of the city of São Paulo;

•  The 44 bulb turbines of the hydroelectric plant are regarded as the biggest in the world of their kind;

•  The amount of iron used in the plant construction (138,000 tons) is enough to build 18 Eiffel towers;

•  The construction of Santo Antônio will consume enough cement to build 37 football stadiums the size of Maracanã.