Completion of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex, according to Eletrobras, should take place in December. Four turbines remain to be commissioned.

The Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant, on the Xingu River, in Pará, inaugurated today (17/07), its fourteenth generating unit, enters a historic phase, as it becomes the plant with the highest installed capacity in the country.
The ceremony will be attended by the President of Eletrobras, Wilson Ferreira Júnior, and the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque.

With the fourteenth turbine, the capacity of the Belo Monte plant now stands at 8,788 megawatts (MW) and surpasses the Tucuruí hydroelectric plant (8,370 MW) and becomes the largest 100% Brazilian hydroelectric plant.
It is worth remembering that the Itaipu plant, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in May this year, has 14 MW, but belongs to Brazil and Paraguay, with each country having a 50% stake in the project.

According to a statement by the president of Eletrobras, the conclusion of the Belo Monte plant should take place by December of this year, when the commissioning of the eighteenth and last turbine should take place.
The executive concluded by stating that the fifteenth machine in Belo Monte is already in the commissioning process and that thus there will only be three turbines left to start operating.

The operator

The Belo Monte development, in Pará, is being built and operated by the Norte Energia group, in which Eletrobras holds a 49,98% stake.
Norte Energia, a privately-held corporation, is made up of companies from different segments and supplementary pension funds.

Formed as a Special Purpose Entity (SPE), the Company won the concession auction on April 20, 2010. Norte Energia will manage the plant for a period of 35 years, defined in the concession contract.

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