# Itaipú Dam vs Three Gorges Dam!!



## snake (Nov 27, 2003)

US has never torn down any major dams so far. If big dams are so bad, why not?!

US is still building big dams, so are other major developed nations, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada etc.
http://www.small-hydro.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=countries.country&Country_ID=82

The highest dams under construction (in USA) are Seven Oaks (168 m high), Eastside reservoir(three dams, 87 m) and Portegues (82 m).


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## glickel (Sep 23, 2004)

I am not aware of any big US dams being built. If there are I would like to know. I am a little fuzzy on dam being built outside of the US (except for the big projects like TG), but I know there is a shift going on in the US government and public perception of dam construction. 

Snake, your link didn't mention any new major dam construction, just repair work. And of course big dams have not been taken down, the capital investment is too high for that to be economical. The US Army Corp and Bureau of Reclemation are in the process of changing their missions to protect nature, which means is some cases to alter exisiting projects to be for environmentally sensetive (eg. restoration of part of the LA river)

Look, I have a love/hate relationship with dams. I love the fact they provide clean power, supply water to billions and they can look very cool. (Has any one seen Glen Canyon Dam, amazing) Yet they destroy an entire ecosystem, and alter nature beyond recoginition (For example Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon dam, is a massive lake in the middle of the desert which is a far from natural as one can get.)

Hydropower, while important, is not going to meet the growing demand for clean energy. Hopefully Solar and wind will become more economical.


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## JuanPa (Sep 1, 2004)

The two works are an attack against the nature!!. They can be a great engineering work, but their cost is towering, and its impact in the environment is incalculable. 
There are better alternatives for the great electric power demand like the small ones central hydroelectric between 40 Mw and 100Mw. These are kinder with the atmosphere, more economic, more efficient and they can be optimized. 

For example in brasil, on oneself river is common to build among small hydroelectric 15 and 20 along the river, to produce the same thing that a monster of 1000 Mw. With this solution loses temper in smaller proportion the bed of the river, it is avoided to flood big quantities of productive land (since they work with small differences of height) and their cost is between 30 and 40 more economic%, because it is not necessary to make big excavations com TGD. it is my opinion.


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## sequoias (Dec 21, 2004)

snake said:


> US has never torn down any major dams so far. If big dams are so bad, why not?!
> 
> US is still building big dams, so are other major developed nations, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada etc.
> http://www.small-hydro.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=countries.country&Country_ID=82
> ...


Hoover Dam and Oroville Dam is the tallest in the US, the Lake Oroville Dam is 773 feet tall and the Hoover Dam is several feet shorter, they're tall but not wide.


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## kjb434 (Sep 24, 2004)

A quick point about nuclear power. Europe, particularly France is the largest user of nuclear power and they continue to build new power plants. The produce more nuclear waste than the US. But the US always gets blamed. Just bothers me. Had to get it out. 

By the way: Where does France send there nuclear waste?

The truth about the world engery needs is that no form of energy is without problems. Every option has consequences. In the end it comes down to the cost to produce the energy and whether it is worth it. Even coal can be extremely clean is done right. The US has cut its coal emmissions dramatically since the 1970s. Right now the US gets about 50% of its power from coal.

China and Brazil seem to have chosen hydroelectric power. They believe that is the best choice for them. China is building the dam for more than just power. The main reason is flooding and making the shipping channels safer along the Yangtze River. The power production is real nice bonus. From the pics from Brazil, it seems that their dam is primarily for power and possible for flooding. The build what met their needs.

Both are impressive projects and great feats of engineering


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## Q-TIP (Feb 14, 2005)

I believe Itaipu Dam is highly underrated as a hydropower force in the world. Three Gorges Dam gets the headlines as being (slightly) larger than Itaipu. 

I believe building dams like these are priceless to future generations. Another project like Itaipu and 3 Gorges should be built on the Ganges, Brahmaputa Rivers of Indi/Bangladesh/Nepal. Curtailing these rivers would have a massive effect on Bangladesh's population. However, finding the funds to built this in some of the world's poorest nations will need external aid from UN and other nations.


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## mic of Orion (Feb 24, 2005)

I think Itapu is great dam project, much better than TGD, I think both are important for there own countries and I think China with TGD will at least receive 20% its current needs, whereas Itapu generates all of Paraguay's electricity needs and about 50% Of Brazilian electricity demands. 

I think to build equivalent power source such as Itapu or TGD you'd need 12-15 Nuclear Power Plants each costing no less than 3.5 Bn US$ and coming with its own problems for environment. I think Itapu coasted somewhere around 15Bn US$ and TGD about 30Bn US$.

I think it is great what Brazil and China did, building such huge projects will only help those countries energy needs.
If you built few more such plants in China and Brazil you'd be sorted for long time with cheep and environmentally friendly electricity supply.


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## Q-TIP (Feb 14, 2005)

TGD truly defies engineering constraints. BTW Is there an updated thread on the TGD project here, or in the China sub forum, because I can not find it?


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## miamicanes (Oct 31, 2002)

Power-generation is only part of the reason for the Three Gorges Dam. The Yangtse River is a lot like the Colorado River in the US *USED* to be, before a half-century of dam projects (including Hoover Dam) _finally_ tamed it once and for all and brought it under control. The Colorado River used to change course on a yearly basis, and regularly flooded HUGE areas every spring. The same is true about the YR. It doesn't just cause expensive floods... it actually kills lots of people in those floods, too. The TG Dam would probably have been built _anyway_, even if it didn't generate a single watt of electricity (for the record, the entire power output of Hoover Dam would barely be enough to run 3 hotels and their casinos on a hot summer day... but nobody would ever propose eliminating it, because electricity is the least of its important benefits).


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## jamesinclair (Mar 21, 2006)

Incidently, Itaipu isnt only Brazil, its a joint project with Paraguay and Argentina (its on their borders). 

Ive been to it and it really is massive....but doesnt feel so special next to Iguaçu.


And while Brasil ahs many dams, they also have nuclear power plants.


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## arqdos (May 23, 2006)

jamesinclair said:


> Incidently, Itaipu isnt only Brazil, its a joint project with Paraguay and Argentina (its on their borders).
> 
> Ive been to it and it really is massive....but doesnt feel so special next to Iguaçu.
> 
> ...


You are not quite right, Itaipu is a Bi-national enterprise, between Brasil and Paraguay, Argentina has nothing whatsoever to do with Itaipu.


mic of Orion... Itaipu can generate all of Paraguay's electricity needs but at the moment most of the Energy goes to Brasil. Paraguay energy needs comes from Itaipu, Acaray dam (100% Paraguayan and older than Itaipu) and Yacyreta dam (Bi-national with Argentina)
Rod


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## zergcerebrates (Jan 23, 2004)

Three Gorges Dam


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## zergcerebrates (Jan 23, 2004)

Have you guys noticed that because of this dam the river is less brownish(when gates closed)? I guess because the flow of water has been reduced.


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## bustero (Dec 20, 2004)

^^it's less brownish because when the gates are closed the silt settles and in a deeper reservoir it's difficult to see the bottom. Normally the river is quite silten hence before the dam was built you can easily see it being brown due to the shallower river portions.


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## BonusAer (May 21, 2006)

jamesinclair said:


> Incidently, Itaipu isnt only Brazil, its a joint project with Paraguay and Argentina (its on their borders).
> 
> Ive been to it and it really is massive....but doesnt feel so special next to Iguaçu.
> 
> ...


Exactly, Argentina is not part of the Itaipu Project, yet it has a bi-national dam called Yciretá, like arqdos said.
On the other hand, a great part of Argentina's energy comes from nuclear plants, about 10% of the enrgy produced comes from them, the highet proportion in Latin America, we are now building our third nuclear plant :S


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