Hydrokinetic Projects in North Brazil to Generate Energy Using River Currents

08/28/2015 - 09h07

The force of the rivers in north Brazil is the new hope for the country's electricity generation.

There are two projects, in the states of Rondônia and Pará, based on hydrokinetic energy. This system uses river currents, rather than requiring the construction of dams.

One of the projects has received nearly R$1 million (USD $282,000) of investment from the British government, in partnership with Eletronorte and the Federal University of Itajubá (Unifei).

In this process, the water passes through a turbine partially submerged in the river, generating additional energy, which is then sent either to the energy network or redirected to communities which are not on the grid.

Folha accompanied Unifei researchers who travelled 5km of the River Jamari in eight days, beginning downstream - the opposite end of the river from the source - to map the speed of the current, depth, and the possibility of generating supplementary energy.

The potential of this system has yet to be established. In Rondônia, some progress has been made, according to researcher Julio César Silva de Souza, who has also been conducting research in the region of the Curuá-Una hydroelectric plant, in the state of Pará.

According to Souza, there is reason to believe that the technology could increase Brazil's electricity generation by up to 30%, were it to be adopted on a wide scale.

NEXT YEAR

Another project, near Tucuruí, also in Pará, should be operational by the end of next year, according to Eletronorte. It will be the first fluvial hydroelectric hydrokinetic plant in Brazil, being run by Eletronorte and Itaipu Binacional.

The Tucuruí turbine has a diameter of ten meters and is predicted to cost R$10 million (USD $2.8 million). If it were operational today, it could supply energy to a community of 3000 people in an area 16km from Samuel, according to Marcial José Perez Viana, executive manager of the plant.

The prospect of generation in Samuel and Curuá-Una came about in November 2014, when Unifei enrolled in a public call in the United Kingdom.

The aim is to begin producing energy in 2017. However, before that happens, studies will be repeated in the summer to assess the potential of the river in the rainy season.

There are another five projects underway in Brazil being financed by the British government, in partnership with organizations such as Aneel and Eletrobras.

For Geraldo Lucio Tiago Filho, a member of the project, a Unifei professor and executive secretary of the National Reference Center for Small Hydroelectric Plants, Brazil has the chance to develop this technology before other countries.

"It's going to be something national, without importing anything. Renewable sources are what we have most of in the north of the country."

The journalist travelled on the invitation of the British government.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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	Jorge Araújo - 12.out.07/Folhapress
	The force of the rivers in north Brazil is the new hope for the country's electricity generation