Terje Aasland was received by Itaipu’s Brazilian General Director, Enio Verri, this Wednesday (2). The Scandinavian country has 94.3% hydropower in its energy matrix
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland commented on Wednesday (October 2) about the similarities between Brazil’s and Norway’s energy matrices, with Norway’s installed capacity being 94.3% derived from hydropower. “I think Norway and Brazil are quite similar. We have hydropower and the opportunity to produce wind and solar energy,” he stated.
Photo: Sara Cheida/Itaipu Binacional.
Accompanied by a delegation of Norwegian government representatives and diplomats, Aasland was welcomed by the Brazilian General Director of Itaipu, Enio Verri, at the Visitor Reception Center (CRV) before taking a technical tour of the hydroelectric plant. Also present at the reception were directors Renato Sacramento (technical executive), Carlos Carboni (Coordination), and Luiz Fernando Delazari (legal).
Enio Verri explained that Itaipu has been surpassed in installed capacity by the Chinese Three Gorges Dam, but still maintains the highest accumulated production in the world, with over 3 billion MWh produced throughout its history. “Chinese professionals have visited us several times to learn from our project and build the Three Gorges hydroelectric plant,” the Director commented.
For Aasland, hydropower is a perfect energy generation system due to its predictability and its support for the growth of new electric sources such as solar and wind. “Itaipu’s production is quite impressive. It is very important to have this amount of renewable energy available to power homes and industries,” he affirmed.
The Norwegian delegation is participating in the meetings of the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group, as well as the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM15) and the Mission Innovation Ministerial (MI-9). “I have many interesting meetings planned to discuss how we can build a low or zero-emission future,” he summarized.
Norway has an installed capacity of about 33,000 MW, which is just under two Itaipu plants. “One of our largest projects is 1,760 MW. But we have 1,800 hydropower plants,” Terje Aasland explained. The second largest source of energy is wind, with 3,970 MW. According to Aasland, the country has enough reserves to produce electricity for almost three years.
Technical Visit
The delegation watched an institutional video about Itaipu at the CRV and then departed for a technical visit, accompanied by the Public Relations Division. They visited the Central Lookout, the crest of the dam, the concrete dam, the central control room, the load dispatch room, and the turbine axis. Renato Sacramento accompanied part of the technical visit and explained the unique features of Itaipu.
“It is always a great pleasure to receive visitors here, especially a minister who is from the field; he is an electrical engineer and knows the plant and the electrical system,” Sacramento stated. “He seemed quite impressed by the grandeur of Itaipu, which is very positive coming from a country with significant experience in hydropower..”
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland and director Renato Sacramento at the turbine axis.
