Norte Energia's Belo Monte Dam will be the world’s third-largest hydropower plant and by harnessing the energy of the Xingu river located in Pará state, northern Brazil, it has a planned capacity of 11,230 MW.

For the Belo Monte project Alstom will lead a consortium that includes German Voith and Austrian Andritz for 14 of its 611 MW Francis turbine-generator sets and the 6 smaller Bulb units. Furthermore Alstom will supply 7 Francis units, hydro-mechanical equipment and associated Gas Insulated Substations for the 14 large-scale units.

Philippe Joubert, Alstom Power President remarks: “This contract is the product of our commitment to developing highly efficient renewable energy solutions. Our high performance hydro turbines and generators, in conjunction with our grid technology, maximize the efficiency of hydropower plants.”

It is expected that the Belo Monte hydropower project will be completed by 2019 and once completed will serice the electricity needs of 35 million people.

Hydropower accounts for 85% of Brazil’s power production.