Hydroelectric Plant

Today, we went to a hydroelectric plant in Cubatão in the state of São Paulo near Santos. The scenery on the way to the plant was beautiful and it reminded me a lot of home. We met our guide in the plant. He is one of the employees in the plant. He is very knowledgeable and was very nice and willing to answer any questions. The plant has an energy generation power of 900 MW. It has 8 external units, and 6 units that are underground. First, we went into the museum area of the plant, where we got to see a scale model of the external units and a real size part of it. Our guide explained how the units work. Basically, each unit has 2 turbines which have a needle to push the water into a shell, which then rotates because of the pressure creating mechanical energy, which is then converted into electrical energy. The external units generate around 458 MW combined, which means that each unit generates around 57.7 MW, and have 360rpm. Whereas each underground unit generates 70 MW and have 450rpm. He also told us that the maintenance for the external units was more complicated. Every day, one unit is stopped to do the maintenance and they have a lifespan of 84000 hours, which is roughly 10 years. They place magnetic powder in the shells to clean them. The Cubatão plant was founded by Canadians, and it uses the Pelton system, which is more efficient. It has been operating since 1926.

 

After the museum, we went into the plant and saw the external units. Then we went into the control room. The guide told us that they were working on a new system to modernize the controls and the way the plant is operated. The system and software technology wasn’t as advanced in the hydroelectric plant as it was in the solar plant. It could be because hydroelectricity is more mechanical and straight forward than solar energy.

Then, we went through a tunnel to go into the underground units. I noticed that 2 of the units were different from the rest and they were made in Switzerland as opposed to Canada, which is where the others were made. I asked our guide about the difference between the units. He said that they just bought the 4 Canadian turbines first and then got the other 2 together. Then, he complained about how Swiss turbines are not very good. I found it funny and it shows how every country has strengths and weaknesses and apparently turbines are not Switzerland’s strength.

The Cubatão plant made me realize that although alternative energy is the way to go, it also has many complications. It is very expensive, each turbine is around 2 million Reales, which is equivalent to 600 thousand dollars, and that doesn’t include all the installation and maintenance costs and other relatd expenses. The plant has 95 workers, including the people in maintenance, which means that while in the construction phase it generates many jobs, afterwards, it doesn’t require a lot of people to operate it and doesn’t create a lot of jobs. Although water is a renewable resource, it also has its limitations. The plant doesn’t really have room to grow more and add more units, neither externally nor internally. All they can do is improve the units and technology used to increase the energy generation between a 5 and 10 percent. The plant is also susceptible to be affected by social issues. For example, in 1932 there was a revolution in the state of São Paulo and 2 bombs were thrown into the plant. Only one exploded in the control room. The plant was targeted because they wanted to attack the vulnerable points and leave some people without electricity and water. Also, Cubatão used to be the most polluted city of the world. Before 1982, the government didn’t have any environmental laws or regulations and there were a lot of factories in the city, which were polluting without any control. Since the city is next to the sea and it is a port, it facilitates commerce and transport, which attracts companies. It also makes me think that perhaps the plant contributed in a way to all the pollution. Since the plant was there it was easy to get access to electricity, which made it a more attractive city for different companies. However, at the end, it is worth using alternative energy.

I really enjoyed the trip. I liked it more than the solar energy trip because I understood the way it works better. The explanations were clearer and it was less technical. Hydroelectricity was easier to understand for me because it is more visual since it is mechanical energy. Also, the guide spoke in Portuguese and we had a translator. Since I speak a little Portuguese and Spanish, which is my first language, is very similar, it was very easy for me to understand him and I didn’t have to lose some information between all the translations. I was actually expecting to see the external part of a damp, so that was a little disappointing, but overall it was a great trip and I cannot wait for the next one.