Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam is the world’s secondlargest operational hydroelectric power plant in terms of installed power. With an installed generation capacity of 14GW, the plant is operated by Itaipu Binacional and located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. Energy generated by Itaipu helps to meet the demands of the two countries. Approximately 90% of the energy generated by the plant is used by Brazil.

The Itaipu dam and the hydroelectric plant are on the Paraná River. The construction of the dam began in February 1971 and cost $19.6bn. The first unit began generating power in May 1984 and the second generating unit started operating the same year. Itaipu has 20 generating units, each with a capacity of 700MW.

The dam’s reservoir, which covers an area of 1,350km², is the seventh-largest reservoir in Brazil with the best coefficient of water utilisation of 10.4MW/km². Itaipu generated 79.44 million MWh of energy in 2019, while plant achieved a milestone in 2016 by setting a new world record for annual power generation with a production of 103.1 million MWh.