TECHNICIAN CLEANS HUGE COVERS TO FOUR TURBINES AT ITAIPU HYDROELECTRIC IN BRAZIL, 2001-05-29 (photo)

A technician is seen cleaning the huge covers to four of the turbines at the Itaipu dam, which straddles the border between Brazil and Paraguay, May 29, 2001. Its 18 turbines pumped out 93.4 million megawatts of power in 2000 - enough to keep all of Brazil lit for three months. Itaipu Lake, a man-made reservoir fed by the Parana River, is itself almost 5 miles (8 km) long. Despite its massive scale, the power plant and others like it across Brazil have been unable to keep up with the energy demands of Latin America's biggest country. It's hard to believe Brazil is in the grips of an acute energy crisis when faced with the titanic scale of Itaipu, which is the world's largest hydroelectric power plant. A 65-storey-high edifice, it took more concrete to build than the Eurotunnel that spans the English channel. Picture taken 29MAY01. GN