The Itaipu plant installed 1,584 floating solar panels in the reservoir as a pilot project to study the feasibility of expanding energy generation. The experiment generates 1 megawatt-peak and functions as a laboratory for future commercial applications. According to technicians, covering 10% of the reservoir with solar panels could generate capacity equivalent to another Itaipu plant.
The Itaipu plant is one of the world's largest engineering works and a symbol of integration between Brazil and Paraguay, with current hydroelectric capacity of 14,000 megawatts. The reservoir occupies a massive area of approximately 1,300 square kilometers, extending almost 170 kilometers from the dam to the opposite end.
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The Itaipu reservoir has approximately 1,300 square kilometers of perimeter
The pilot solar plant has 1,584 photovoltaic panels and 1 megawatt-peak capacity
The investment in the pilot project is US$ 854,500 (approximately R$ 4.3 million)
The installation was executed by a consortium of companies Sunlution (Brazil) and Luxacril (Paraguay)
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At least four years would be needed to install 3,000 megawatts of solar capacity
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Agência Brasil covered the reopening of the Biofuels Demonstration Unit on April 13
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