Tucuruí-Macapá-Manaus Transmission Line

The Tucuruí-Macapá-Manaus transmission line allow the integration of the States of Amazonas, Amapá and the west of Pará with the National Interconnected System (SIN). With approximately 1,800 kilometers total extension and operating at voltages of 500 kV and 230 kV in double circuit, it will pass through stretches of forest and will cross the Amazon River. Since it is a complex project, predominantly undertaken in the Amazon forest, the project design was prepared to be compatible with environmental agency guidelines, seeking to mitigate environmental impact, with actions such as heightening the towers, use of self-supporting structures and using only narrow corridors to install cables. Planned investment is in the region of R$ 3 billion. 

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• The Tucuruí-Macapá-Manaus transmission line will allow integration of the States of Amazonas, Amapá and the west of Pará with the National Interconnected System (SIN)

In addition to inter-linking isolated systems in the extreme North, the new line will reduce the cost of electricity generation. The completion of work on the transmission line will enable the country to save R$ 2 billion a year. With this saving it is calculated that the line will pay for itself in just over one year and will predominantly supply clean, renewable energy. With the end of fossil fuel use, about 3 million tons of carbon will no longer be released into the atmosphere.

The call for tenders was published online by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) in March 2008. SPE Manaus Transmissora de Energia S/A will build the Oriximiná/Silves/Lechuga section in 500 kV, with a length of 586 km in the States of Amazonas and Pará. The participating companies are Eletronorte, Chesf, and the Spanish company, Abengoa. 

The Spanish company Isolux won the other two lots, Lot A connecting  Tucuruí to Jurupari at 500 kV, and Lot B connecting Jurupari to Oriximiná at 500 kV and Jurupari to Macapá at 230 kV. These sections are scheduled for completion in June 2013 and December 2012 respectively. About 4,000 workers were employed on the construction of the line. 

Assembly of the first tower for the transmission line linking the Tucuruí Hydroelectric Plant in Manaus to Macapá and dozens of towns in the interior was completed in April 2011.  The tower is located on the section between Oriximiná and the Engenheiro Lechuga Substation in the Amazonas State capital. It is 62 meters high - the equivalent of a 20-story building - and weighs 24 tons. 

The interconnection project is part of the Transmission Expansion Program (TEP) 2008-2012, developed with the aim of implementing the works necessary to expand the main network. The project is part of the Federal government's Accelerated Growth Plan (PAC). 

Preliminary studies of project feasibility for an interconnection between Manaus and Tucuruí, also serving Amapá, were made in the late 1980s. Studies were resumed in 2004 with the approval of laws that established the new regulatory framework for the electricity sector. The transmission line project was presented in 2007.

Several alternatives for the route of the line were evaluated in order to determine which option offered the least environmental impact. Initially six options were considered. The type of vegetation and land use were decisive factors in the choice. Where there was interference with legally protected reservations such as indigenous lands and conservation areas, a change in the route was made. Another important aspect of the project relates to river crossings. The Amazon, for example, can reach up to ten miles wide at some points. The system allows a third circuit to be added to the line in the future, using the same corridor.

Sources: 
Ministry of Mines and Energy
Eletrobras
Suframa
Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE)