A Brazilian Summer: Life of a Ecologista: The Truth About Hydropower

I feel pretty confident in my clean energy background - I've seen solar installations, innovative cleantech solutions and closely followed political and economic support in the industry. Although there are multiple hydroelectric plants within minutes from my hoe in Boise, Idaho, I have never seen a hydroelectric plant up close and personal. Prior to our visit to the Henry Borden Plant, administered by the Metropolitan Enterprise of Water and Energy (emae), I expected there to be lots of flowing water and a large dam in open space, with turbines at the base. Furthermore, while I contemplated the environmental and social effects of a major dam, I neglected to consider the political and economic implications of such a plant.

When we first arrived to Henry Borden, sleep eyed and engrossed in the scenery, we were brought to a room depicting the plant’s historic beginnings. There, we learned of the two large sections – the external and the underground plants—both stemming from the 720-meter high falls. Pipeline and pumps have redirected the Cubatão river to create a high-pressure water source into the plant, with an escape channel on the other end of the plant. Pelton turbines, one of the most efficient systems, drive the generators, requiring significantly less water consumption. The engineer informed us that the only loss of energy occurs during the conversion from mechanical to electrical energy. While the underground plant contains about six units, the older, external facilities consist of eight generators. General Electric (GE) constructed the first external unit in 1926, with another unit added on in 1950. Together, the sections are able to generate 900 megawatts (MW) of energy, with a rate of over 150 m³/s. Scaled models of the underground and external Pelton systems were also carefully explained to us, one of the first pieces of evidence surrounding Henry Borden’s attempt to preserve history.

Rather than jump into the mechanics and numbers surrounding these systems (I will not pretend I am a mechanical engineer), I will instead focus on the progression of our visit and the takeaways I left with. First, decked out in safety gear (see below), we explored the eight, horizontal units that operate at 360 rotations per minutes (rpm) and have an installed capacity of over 462 MW. The antique plaques depicting data for the machines and the GE logos plastered on each unit immediately intrigued me. From there, we ventured through the machine room and viewed the command systems for each unit. A gallery displayed old equipment and pictures depicting the construction and historic beginnings of the plant. Next, we entered the general control room, portraying the mix of modern and manual systems, which monitored both plants and the transmission lines. Last, we entered the tunnels to view the underground units and their transformers. These six units were vertical, generating 450 rpm.

Over the course of the walk from the external facilities to the underground hydro systems, I had time to consider the political and economic situation surrounding the plant. This hydropower plant was key to the industrial development of the surround area and state. The cheap energy power led to an influx of industrial plants in the area, unfortunately giving Cubatão the infamous reputation as the most polluted place in the world. Furthermore, the explosion of a bomb on the site during the Revolution of 1932 brought brief fame to the plant. Newspaper clippings are hung depicting the historical significance of the hydropower plant, such as the addition of the cable car to allow workers go provide maintenance on equipment. This excursion differed vastly from the CPFL visit, allowing us to feel as if we had briefly gone back in time to the 1920s, when hydropower was a generally new phenomenon. It reminds us that humans have been using water as a source of energy since the dawn of mankind and brings to light the high energy potential from this alternative energy.