Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex
Brazilian hydroelectric project
The Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex (Complexo Hidrelétrico de Paulo Afonso), also known as the Paulo Afonso Complex, is a system of three dams and five hydroelectric power plants on the São Francisco River near the city of Paulo Afonso in Bahia, Brazil. The complex exploits an 80-metre (260 ft) natural gap on the river, known as the Paulo Afonso Falls. Constructed in succession between 1948 and 1979, the dams support the Paulo Afonso I, II, III, IV and Apollonius Sales (Moxotó) power plants which contain a total of 23 generators with an installed capacity of 4,279.6 megawatts (5,739,000 hp).
PA I was the first large power plant constructed in Brazil and the complex constitutes the densest area of dams in Brazil. The complex provides electricity to areas in northeastern Brazil and is the main tourist attraction in the region.
Background and history
On January 23, 1913, the 1.1 MW Angiquinho Hydroelectric Plant, built by industrialist Delmiro Gouveia, was the first use of the Paulo Afonso Falls for power production and the first hydroelectric power plant in northeastern Brazil. Construction of the power plant was intended to spur economic growth in the area and soon after another hydroelectric plant was constructed upstream near Petrolândia. By the 1940s Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture recognized the importance of harnessing the São Francisco River for economic development in the semi-arid region. They began to plan the river's development and the Companhia Hidro-Elétrica do São Francisco (CHESF) was formed in 1945. On May 23, 1944, construction on Paulo Afonso I had been authorized with two generators.
“Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex” enters the record as brazilian hydroelectric project. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Paulo, Afonso and Hydroelectric can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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