Itaipu Binacional

The Itaipu Dam, located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, is the world's largest energy-producing hydroelectric plant. In November of 2017, it will reach 2.5 billion megawatt-hours (MWh) of accumulated production (electricity supply began in 1984). In 2016, the plant established a new global record in annual generation, with 103.1 million MWh. This production accounts for 17% of Brazil's electricity consumption and 78% of Paraguay´s. To get an idea, to generate the same amount of energy with a thermal source, countries would need to use more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day, which is equivalent to one fifth of Brazilian oil production. The company is the result of a treaty signed between Brazilians and Paraguayans in 1973. At the time, the project was influenced by the 1st World Conference on Man and the Environment, the Stockholm Conference, held by the UN in 1972. Therefore, the construction of Itaipu was surrounded by environmental care previously unheard of for a hydroelectric plant. One of the precautions was the creation of conservation areas (composed of protected areas, wildlife refuges and the biological forest corridor that protects of the reservoir) that total more than 100 thousand hectares. Today, this protected forest accounts for the sequester of approximately 730 thousand tons of carbon per year. In 2017, the Paraguayan portion of the protected areas was integrated by UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization's Man and Biosphere program into the global biosphere reserve network. As an advance in biodiversity conservation, Itaipu is undertaking breeding programs for endangered animal species, such as the harpy eagle (typical of South America). The Itaipu reservoir extends for approximately 170 linear kilometers and stores about 29 billion cubic meters of water. In addition to power generation, the lake supplies municipal water and is used in tourism, farming, and fish production. To support these multiple uses, Itaipu develops a series of environmental actions, such as protecting springs and water courses with riparian forests, upgrading rural roads, conservation of agricultural soils, promotion of agroecological techniques, diffusion of technologies for generation of energy from agricultural waste, environmental education for local communities, among other strategies. Among the company's initiatives, Cultivating Good Water was recognized, in 2015, by UN-Water, as a best practice in the management of water resources.