Balbina reservoir
| Balbina reservoir | |||||||||
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| Coordinates | 1 ° 55 ′ 2 ″ S , 59 ° 28 ′ 25 ″ W | ||||||||
| Data on the structure | |||||||||
| Construction time: | until 1987 | ||||||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 33 m | ||||||||
| Building volume: | 5.7 million m³ | ||||||||
| Crown length: | 2920 m | ||||||||
| Power plant output: | 250 MW | ||||||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||||||
| Water surface | 2360 km² | ||||||||
| Storage space | 17,540 million m³ | ||||||||
| Catchment area | 16,502 km² | ||||||||
The Balbina Reservoir is a reservoir and a hydropower plant around 100 km north of Manaus in Brazil in the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo . The Rio Uatumã , a tributary of the Amazon , is dammed here by a 33 m high dam to form a 2360 km² lake with a storage space of 17,540 million m³. The hydroelectric power station is used to power Manaus; With its five turbines of 50 MW each, it has a maximum output of 250 megawatts .
The average depth of the reservoir is 7.4 m, the maximum depth 30 m. The annual water level fluctuation is only 97.5 cm. The reservoir has been flooded since 1987.
The barrier structure is a bulk dam made of earth and rock material . The dam was planned in the 1970s during the first oil crisis in order to become independent of oil imports. It was financed by national debt. Because of the low water level, only a comparatively small amount of electricity can be generated, although a huge reservoir was created. The Tucuruí reservoir , also located in the Amazon region, generates electricity with an output of almost 8,000 MW.
The reservoir project is seen as very disadvantageous today:
- the project has contributed to the national debt
- a large area of tropical rainforest was lost
- on average, only 32% of the capacity of 250 MW can be used because the inflows are too low
- the emissions of carbon dioxide should be significantly (estimated 20 to 40 times) greater than with a thermal power plant with the same output
- the stagnant water promotes diseases
- Natives had to be resettled
The reservoir is seen by some today as an environmental disaster.
See also:
- List of the largest reservoirs on earth
- List of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world
- List of dams in the world
Web links
- Brazil's Balbina Dam: Environment Versus the Legacy of the Pharaohs in Amazonia (PDF file; 1.23 MB)
- World Lakes: Balbina Hydroelectric Power Plant ( Memento from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ By Franz Mechsner: Flood against Indios. In: ZEIT ONLINE. Retrieved October 16, 2015 .