Terms Of Electrical Power Research Articles

Effects of municipal waste compost on microbial biodiversity and energy production in terrestrial microbial fuel cells

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) transform organic matter into electricity through microbial electrochemical reactions catalysed on anodic and cathodic half-cells. Terrestrial MFCs (TMFCs) are a bioelectrochemical system for bioelectricity production as well as soil remediation. In TMFCs, the soil is the ion-exchange electrolyte, whereas a biofilm on the anode oxidises organic matter through electroactive bacteria. Little is known of the overall microbial community composition in a TMFC, which impedes complete exploitation of the potential to generate energy in different soil types. In this context, an experiment was performed to reveal the prokaryotic community structure in single chamber TMFCs with soil in the presence and absence of a municipal waste compost (3% w/v). The microbial community was assessed on the anode and cathode and in bulk soil at the end of the experiment (54 days). Moreover, TMFC electrical performance (voltage and power) was also evaluated over the experimental period, varying the external resistance to improve performance. Compost stimulated soil microbial activity, in line with a general increase in voltage and power. Significant differences were observed in the microbial communities between initial soil conditions and TMFCs, and between the anode, cathode and bulk soil in the presence of the compost. Several electroactive genera (Bacillus, Fulvivirga, Burkholdeira and Geobacter) were found at the anode in the presence of compost. Overall, the use of municipal waste compost significantly increased the performance of the MFCs in terms of electrical power and voltage generated, not least thanks to the selective pressure towards electroactive bacteria on the anode.

Assessment of Wind Speed Statistics in Samaria Region and Potential Energy Production

Statistical characteristics of the wind speed in the Samaria region of Israel have been analyzed by processing 11 years of wind data provided by the Israeli Meteorological Service, recorded at a 10 m height above the ground. The cumulative mean wind speed at a measurement height was shown to be 4.53 m/s with a standard deviation of 2.32 m/s. The prevailing wind direction was shown to be characterized by a cumulative mean azimuth of 226° with a standard deviation of 79.76°. The results were extrapolated to a 70 m height in order to estimate wind characteristics at the hub height of a medium-scale wind turbine. Moreover, Weibull distribution parameters were calculated annually, monthly, and seasonally, demonstrating a good match with histogram-based statistical representations. The shape parameter of the Weibull distribution was shown to reside within a narrow range of 1.93 to 2.15, allowing us to assume a Rayleigh distribution, thus simplifying wind turbine energy yield calculations. The novelty of the current paper is related to gathering wind statistics for a certain area (Samaria), and we are not aware of any published statistics regarding wind velocity and direction in this area. These data may be interesting for potential regional wind energy development in which the obtained Weibull distribution could be used in calculations for the expected power generation of particular turbines with a known power dependence on velocity. We have given an example of these calculations for three different types of turbines and obtained their yield in terms of electric power and economic value. We also point out that the fact that realistic wind velocity statistics can be described well by an analytic formula (Weibull distribution) is not trivial, and in fact, the fit may have been poor.

Performance analysis of a bio-diesel fired engine bottoming with micro-ORC

The purpose of this work is to investigate the performance in terms of electric power and electric efficiency of a 11kW bio-diesel internal combustion engine (ICE) coupled with a micro Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) both in design and off-design conditions. A zero dimensional (0D) thermodynamical engine model has been developed to predict the electric and thermal power with 100% biodiesel fuel (B100). B100 has been selected for the performance analysis of the integrated system due its lower environmental impact. For the ORC system, a subcritical thermodynamic model has been used with various working fluid (R245fa, R1233zd(E), R134a, R1234ze(E) and R1234ze(Z)). A plate heat exchanger (PHEX) has been adopted as evaporator of the organic cycle to directly recover the thermal power of the exhaust gas. Both models have been validated using experimental data from literature. Two different expander configurations, dynamic and volumetric, has been investigated. Model validations show good agreement with the experimental and literature data, respectively. Moreover, the results highlight that the micro-ORC could achieve a maximum electric efficiency of about 7% at full load with R1234ze(Z). Although at part load the dynamic expander show better performance, the volumetric expander has been selected for the system analysis due to its real suitability for small and micro scale ORC. Combined system results show a maximum enhancement of engine efficiency of about 5%, and better results, in terms of good compromise between electric efficiency and operating range width, has been shown for R1233zd(E). Furthermore, the direct coupling of the PHEX with the exhaust gases allows to have heat exchange evaporator areas below 2 m2 for all analysed fluids.

Development of an Integrated Waste to Energy Multigeneration System Based on Plastic Wastes for Sustainable Cities

In this study, a new multigeneration integrated system is proposed to produce hydrogen and cover the communal needs in terms of electric power, heat and fresh water in order to address clean energy and sustainability issues. The proposed system is studied comprehensively and analyzed thermodynamically to identify the effectiveness of the system and its potential implementation. The current system is simulated using the Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS. The thermodynamic calculations are carried out by using the engineering equation solver (EES) software package. This system primarily uses solar energy to produce electricity and as an input energy to the pyrolysis reactor that converts plastic wastes to syngas. Also, the system includes a thermal storage unit to maintain the operation during low solar irradiation. The syngas produced from plastic wastes pyrolysis is processed through a combined cycle to produce electricity. The system generates the electricity at a capacity of 21,601.9 kW. The methane produced is processed through a steam reforming unit to produce hydrogen at a total rate of 0.6 kg/s. The water desalination sub-system produces fresh water through multi effect desalination at a rate of 22.95 kg/s. The energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of the overall system are found to be 62.65% and 42.30% respectively.

Feasibility of thin film nanocomposite membranes for clean energy using pressure retarded osmosis and reverse electrodialysis

Power generation from renewable energy sources is becoming increasingly significant as global energy consumption increases. The non-renewable energy sources we use now are on the verge of extinction. Reverse electrodialysis and pressure retarded osmosis are two methods of harvesting renewable energy using salinity gradients. There are non-polluting sources of energy that can be found at the interface of two solutions with varying salinity gradients. Reverse electrodialysis makes use of ion-selective membranes while uses salt rejecting membranes. It is necessary to employ membranes. Unlike pressure retarded osmosis membranes, ion-exchange membranes involve controlled mixing. The ion flux is employed by ion-exchange membranes in reverse electrodialysis to extract energy. Pressure retarded osmosis is an emerging membrane process uses for harvesting energy and desalination applications. Salinity gradient energy is a zero-emission and sustainable technology that can be practically applied worldwide. By employing a semipermeable membrane to control the mixing process, the osmotic pressure gradient energy can be generated in terms of electrical power via pressure retarded osmosis without causing adverse environmental impacts. In this study, the thin film nanocomposite membrane was fabricated by forming a polyamide thin film on the polysulfone substrate through the interfacial polymerization process.

NOVEL DESIGN OF SOLAR PANEL SYSTEM

Solar energy has a big potential as one of the renewable energy resources in the world. However, the conventional fixed photovoltaic (PV) system provides less efficient and less innovative system. This type of system faces problems of dust, heat, wind, difficult installation and also very less efficient in terms of electric power. To overcome these problems there should be a system which solves these problems automatically. In this research paper, a Novel Design of Solar Panel System is proposed which will solve these problems by self- cleaning, natural cooling, wind protection, solar tracking, easy installation. In these proposed methodology, self- cleaning features, natural cooling elevated design, wind protection system and dual-axis solar tracking system will be added to increase its overall efficiency by 40%. The proposed work is validated with the help of experimental prototype. Keywords - Solar energy, photovoltaic, solar tracking.

Development of Planning and Operation Guidelines for Strategic Grid Planning of Urban Low-Voltage Grids with a New Supply Task

In contrast to rural distribution grids, which are mostly “feed-in oriented” in terms of electrical power, urban distribution grids are “load oriented”, as the number of customer connections and density of loads in urban areas is significantly higher than in rural areas. Taking into account the progressive electrification of the transport and heating sector, it is necessary to assess the required grid optimization or expansion measures from a conventional, as well as an innovative point of view. This is necessary in order to be able to contain the enormous investment volumes needed for transforming the energy system and aligning the infrastructures to their future requirements in time. Therefore, this article first explains the methodological approach of allocating scenarios of the development of electric mobility and heat pumps to analyzed grids. The article continues with describing which power values need to be applied and which conventional and innovative planning measures are available for avoiding voltage band violations and equipment overloads within the framework of strategic grid planning. Subsequently, the results of grid planning studies are outlined and evaluated with an assessment model that evaluates capital as well as operational costs. On this basis, planning and operation guidelines for urban low-voltage grids are derived. The main result is that low-voltage grids can accommodate charging infrastructure for electric mobility, as well as heat pumps to a certain degree. In addition, it is concluded that conventional planning measures are not completely avoidable, but can be partially avoided or deferred through dynamic load management.

Development of a Thin Film Gas Microsensor of Low Power Consumption for Monitoring of Environmental Pollutants

In this work the development and microfabrication of a gas sensor is described. The microsensor consists of a thin film of SnO2 deposited on a micro-machined silicon substrate [1] . This film is heated by a microheater integrated in the microsensor to obtain a temperature between 100 and 400 °C (microhot plates). With the aim to analyze the proposed design, simulations of the mechanical (structural rigidity, maximum and minimum sizes of the structures) and thermal behaviors (distribution of temperatures and electrical powers involved) were performed [2].The manufacturing process carried out in a clean-room area involved a series of steps that include: the design and mastering of masks, photolithography operations, sputtering metal deposition, chemical attacks with dry (RIE) and wet etching (with KOH), dicing of the silicon wafer in individual sensors of 3mm x 3mm and finally, the encapsulation of the sensors by means of wire bonding (see Fig.1)It is important to note that the silicon substrate is micromachined in order to reduce its thermal inertia and the power necessary to heat the sensor film. Such a film is deposited on a silicon nitride insulating membrane that is only 250 nm thick, which significantly reduces the consumption in terms of electrical power, with respect to the known commercial sensors.The SnO2 thin films were fabricated using the technique Rheotaxial Growth and Thermal Oxidation technique (RGTO) on a microhot plate[3]. RGTO is a technique composed of two steps: depositionof a Sn thin film on the substrate maintained at the temperature slightly above the Sn melting point and oxidation at a temperature up to 400 oC. In the first step of the RGTO technique tin was deposited by sputtering DC on the central part of the membrane by means of a shadow mask. During the deposition, substrates were heated at 310 oC . Thickness of the deposited tin was 100 nm. The second step, involving the thermal oxidation of Sn thin layer, was performed in two sub-steps: 2 h at 250 oC and 60 h at 450 oC in wet air. The final result is a granular film with quasi-spherical grain shape. The microstructure was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The characterization of the sensors with gases at different concentrations was done. In the case of ammonia in air, a linear response between 50ppm (maximum permissible limit value) and 6ppm were obtained, the latter being its detection limit (Fig 2). Also H2S were tested (Fig. 3) . The measurements were made by applying a voltage of 5 V to the heater, obtaining dissipated power between 40 and 50 mW. The operating temperature of the sensor film under these conditions was approximately 180°C. On the other hand, the sensor film is connected to a potential of 1 V. The sensor response is then measured as the variation of the electrical resistance as a function of the response time.Additionally, electronic control and signal processing was developed, suitable for incorporating sensors into portable instruments. [4]The results of this development also allow us to have a platform for the microfabrication of gas sensors at the request of other public institutions or the private sector. References 1] Mirzaei, A., Leonardi, S.G., Neri, G. Detection of hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by metal oxide nanostructures-based gas sensors: A review. Ceramics International 42, 15119–15141(2016).[2] G.Korotcenkov, B.K. Cho, Metal oxide composites in conductometric gas sensors: Achievements and challenges . Sensors and Actuators B, Vol. 244, 182–210 (2017).[3] G. Sberveglieri, G. Faglia, S. Groppelli, P. Nelli , A. Camanz. A new technique for growing large surface area SnO2 thin film (RGTO technique) . Semicond Sci. Technol. 5:1231–1233 (1990)[4] J.Vorobioff , D. F. Rodriguez, N.G. Boggio , C.A. Rinaldi . Development of an Electronic Nose for Determining the Freshness of Fish by the Desorption Constants of Sensors. Sensors Letters, Vol. 11, N° 12, 2013, pp. 2215-2217. Figure 1

A Long-Term Analysis of the Architecture and Operation of Water Film Cooling System for Commercial PV Modules

This work aims at analyzing and architecting natural and artificial parameters to model a water-film cooling system for photovoltaic modules for some months under warm conditions. Methodologically, the theoretical and technical aspects were structured to develop, implement, monitor, and assess the cooling system at an on-grid, outdoor testing unit, considering the following: (i) the criteria to select and to approve the implementation site (infrastructure and climatologic and solarimetric conditions); (ii) the types, frequency and qualities of the monitored data; (iii) the system measurement, monitoring and control equipment; (iv) the commissioning of the system as a whole; and (v) the tests and results empirically obtained. The water-film cooling system reduces the temperature by 15–19%, on average, and up to a maximum of 24–35%. In terms of electric power, there was an average gain of 5–9% at the time of day with the highest solar radiation, and maximum gains of 12% on days with solar radiation above average. Regarding gross energy, average gains of 2.3–6%, and maximum gains of 6.3–12%, were obtained. It was concluded that the test unit helps understand the natural phenomena and the development, operation, and maintenance of performance gain systems of on-grid PV modules for construction on a commercial scale.

Development of a Thin Film Gas Microsensor of Low Power Consumption for Monitoring of Environmental Pollutants

In this work the development and microfabrication of a gas sensor is described. The microsensor consists of a thin film of SnO2 deposited on a micro-machined silicon substrate [1] . This film is heated by a microheater integrated in the microsensor to obtain a temperature between 100 and 400 °C (microhot plates). With the aim to analyze the proposed design, simulations of the mechanical (structural rigidity, maximum and minimum sizes of the structures) and thermal behaviors (distribution of temperatures and electrical powers involved) were performed [2].The manufacturing process carried out in a clean-room area involved a series of steps that include: the design and mastering of masks, photolithography operations, sputtering metal deposition, chemical attacks with dry (RIE) and wet etching (with KOH), dicing of the silicon wafer in individual sensors of 3mm x 3mm and finally, the encapsulation of the sensors by means of wire bonding (see Fig.1)It is important to note that the silicon substrate is micromachined in order to reduce its thermal inertia and the power necessary to heat the sensor film. Such a film is deposited on a silicon nitride insulating membrane that is only 250 nm thick, which significantly reduces the consumption in terms of electrical power, with respect to the known commercial sensors.The SnO2 thin films were fabricated using the technique Rheotaxial Growth and Thermal Oxidation technique (RGTO) on a microhot plate[3]. RGTO is a technique composed of two steps: depositionof a Sn thin film on the substrate maintained at the temperature slightly above the Sn melting point and oxidation at a temperature up to 400 oC. In the first step of the RGTO technique tin was deposited by sputtering DC on the central part of the membrane by means of a shadow mask. During the deposition, substrates were heated at 310 oC . Thickness of the deposited tin was 100 nm. The second step, involving the thermal oxidation of Sn thin layer, was performed in two sub-steps: 2 h at 250 oC and 60 h at 450 oC in wet air. The final result is a granular film with quasi-spherical grain shape. The microstructure was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The characterization of the sensors with gases at different concentrations was done. In the case of ammonia in air, a linear response between 50ppm (maximum permissible limit value) and 6ppm were obtained, the latter being its detection limit (Fig 2). Also H2S were tested (Fig. 3) . The measurements were made by applying a voltage of 5 V to the heater, obtaining dissipated power between 40 and 50 mW. The operating temperature of the sensor film under these conditions was approximately 180°C. On the other hand, the sensor film is connected to a potential of 1 V. The sensor response is then measured as the variation of the electrical resistance as a function of the response time.Additionally, electronic control and signal processing was developed, suitable for incorporating sensors into portable instruments. [4]The results of this development also allow us to have a platform for the microfabrication of gas sensors at the request of other public institutions or the private sector.

Android-Based Energy-Saving Software for Indoor Lamp Selection Applications

Illumination is one sector that consumes a lot of electrical energy required in various aspects of life so it requires optimization in utilization that will be able to provide great energy savings. One way to optimize is to use the appropriate lighting in accordance with the needs, both in terms of electrical power and large luminance in accordance with the area of space and type of activities undertaken. With the wide variety and condition of the room, this raises the question of how the easy and can be used by different layers of society to determine the right lighting for use is. The research aims to the question is by making android-based energy-saving software for indoor lamp selection applications. By using this software the user will get the right type of lamp suggestion to use based on the input given. This software engineering is done by using Android Studio software using standard luminance requirement determination based on the area and condition of the room. The results of this study are expected to produce energy-efficient android based software for indoor lamp selection applications that can be useful for energy saving

Resource consumption and process performance in minimum quantity lubricated milling of tool steel

The use of cutting fluids has driven performance improvements in metal machining. However these fluids have drawbacks including resources consumed and possible negative environmental consequences. Thus the study of coolant delivery rates is important. This work investigated the use of minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) in solid carbide milling of tool steel. A tool life improvement of 60 percent was demonstrated in comparison to dry cutting. Based on measurements and calculations made, MQL consumed cutting fluid at a rate less than 5 percent of that of a typical flooding coolant system, and was a low-consumption option in terms of electrical power.

Sustainable energy

A brief overview of why it is important to think of energy in a sustainable way is given. The starting point is that the future of mankind depends on a sufficient energy supply, both in terms of electric power and liquid fuels, at present based on fossile resources. A shift of paradigm towards Sustainable Development is needed, based on ethical considerations and on some legal rules. A possible technological solution to the liquid fuel problem is also presented.

Modeling and Fuzzy MPPT Controller Design for Photovoltaic Module Equipped with a Closed-Loop Cooling System

Electrical energy generated by a photovoltaic (PV) panel depends heavily on two climatic conditions: total solar irradiance and absolute temperature. If high intensity of the solar illumination contributes positively to increasing electrical power, a high degree of absolute temperature has, by contrast, a negative effect on its electrical characteristic. In this paper, the electrical efficiency provided by a conventional PV panel is enhanced using the proposed photovoltaic thermal (PVT) panel. The latter contains serpentines fed by a water tank, which allows cooling its PV cells at high temperature. Accordingly, the desired enhancement needs two main requirements: an efficient PVT panel model that accurately describes the actual PVT panel behavior and an efficient controller that correctly tracks the maximum power point tracking (MPPT). For this reason, a number of experimental test data is firstly recorded from an actual ISOFOTON I-50-PVT module under different climatic conditions. Afterward, the recorded data are fitted by the Curve Fitting Toolbox (CF-Tool), creating therefore a 2-dimensional lookup table, used in the following step. Next, the fuzzy logic control (FLC) strategy is employed to synthesize the proposed MPPT-FLC controller, which should ensure a good extraction of the maximal electrical power. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed MPPT-FLC controller based on a 2-dimensional lookup table, the obtained performance is compared, in terms of electrical power and duty cycle, to those provided by an MPPT-FLC controller for a conventional PV panel in various climatic conditions.

Modelling and predictive control of a solar cooling plant with flexible configuration

This paper focuses on the modelling and predictive control of a real medium temperature solar cooling system made up of a solar collector, an absorption chiller, a gas heater, hot and cold water storage tanks, connecting pipes, pumps, and a number of valves, allowing to modify the plant configuration in order to optimize its performance in terms of electric power and gas consumption. A detailed model of the plant is first obtained as a mix of first principle equations, validated with data collected on the plant, and identification techniques. Then, the model is simplified and used to formulate a hybrid Model Predictive Control (MPC) problem computing the optimal plant configuration over a prediction horizon of six hours, or more, and based on the available forecast of the solar radiation and user demand. The developed MPC algorithm has been used to control the plant; some of the collected results are reported here to witness the potentialities of the proposed approach.

Cm-scale axial flow water turbines for autonomous flowmeters: an experimental study

This paper reports on the performances and the optimization of a 40 mm diameter water flow energy harvester based on an axial turbine (horizontal axis propeller) coupled to a customized permanent magnet generator. To the best of our knowledge, this work is one of the first comprehensive studies in the low dimensional and flow velocities ranges. The parameters of the propeller have been empirically optimized ( = 1, B = 4 blades) by the means of experiments in a test-bench pipe at various flow rates from 1 to 9 m3 h−1. The best propeller design has been selected for its performances in terms of electrical power and pressure drop. A customized permanent magnet converter with ferromagnetic elements has been modeled, optimized with finite elements simulations and fabricated. This has enabled to increase the electrical power by 2.7 @ 1.5 m3 h−1 (3.2 mW) and up to 14.1 @ 9 m3 h−1 (490 mW) compared to a simple magnet-air coil converter. The figure of merit of our water flow harvester, which takes the electrical power and the pressure drops in the pipe into account, is greater than previously reported water flow energy harvesters, and corresponds to an overall mechanical-to-electrical conversion efficiency of 5.15%.

A Cost-Effective Wind Power-Driven RO Plant for Treatment of Brackish Water

Desalination has often been perceived as a high cost means of producing water. Reason being that some of the water treatment methods use electricity to run a pump as in Reverse Osmosis system and some uses thermal energy to produce steam as in Multi Effect Distillation. High cost and less availability of conventional fuels has attracted the focus of researchers to explore other unconventional means and methods to purify water. This paper explores the possibility of using wind power for water treatment. In costal countries, tremendous wind power is available at the coastline which may be used to drive a RO plant. In India particularly, the average wind speed calculated along the coastlines of Gujarat state gives a fair idea about potential of energy that can be generated. This energy can be harnessed to run a rotating pump, or a piston-cylinder arrangement coupled with RO module to provide the necessary pressure required to push saline water through the membrane. Along the western coast of India there is an abundance of wind energy to capitulate high amount of energy in terms of electrical Power. If the rotor diameter is 4 feet (1.3 m) and located at a height of 8 feet (2.5 m), each wind turbine may produce power of around 2 KW. This power may be used to run the reciprocating pump which provides pressure to the RO Apparatus. The paper describes recent advancements in the wind industries technology to produce electrical energy at low cost but it concentrates more on coupling wind energy directly with RO module to save energy conversion cost which is a seldom or different approach than converting electrical energy to mechanical energy for running of RO system.

Thermal characterization of electrical tracing-assisted dual-microring optical sensors.

In this paper, we study the temperature sensitivity of an electrical tracing-assisted dual-microring optical sensor, which consists of a sensing ring to detect the refractive index change on its surface and a tracing ring to trace the resonance wavelength shift of the sensing ring by the thermo-optic effect with a heating electrode on it. The wavelength shift measurement is therefore changed to electrical power variation measurement. Thanks to the real-time compensation effect of the tracing ring, the temperature dependence of the sensor is found to be intrinsically low. The resonance wavelength temperature sensitivity difference between the two rings is measured to be as low as 10.1 pm/°C, showing that the temperature dependence of the sensor in terms of wavelength per degree is reduced by ~6 times compared to that of a single ring sensor. The temperature sensitivity of the sensor in terms of electrical power per degree is measured to be -0.077 mW/°C. By using tracing ring with enhanced tuning efficiency, this value can be further decreased to -0.0057 W/°C. The experimental results agree well with the expectation. This type of sensors with low temperature dependence has great potential to be deployed in various practical point-of-care diagnostic applications.

Simulative Investigation of Laser Line-width and Channel Spacing for Realization of DWDM Systems under the Impact of Four Wave Mixing

This work is focused on how to implement 4- and 8-channel dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) system, with each channel of 10 Gbps over an optical span of 100 km in the presence of four wave mixing (FWM) under the impact of unequal-channel spacing and laser line-width. In this proposed work, we have evaluated electrical power, Q-factor and average eye opening of 4- and 8-channel dense wavelength division multiplexing in the presence of FWM under the impact of equal channel spacing of 0.24 nm and 0.27 nm at 100 kHz, 10 MHz and 100 MHz laser line-widths. The comparison of parameters in the terms of electrical power, Q-factor and average eye opening has been observed at different laser line-widths.

Dam and Be Damned: The Adverse Impacts of Belo Monte on Indigenous Peoples in Brazil

In June 2011 the license to build Belo Monte—what the Brazilian government claims to be the third largest dam in the world in terms of electric power generating capacity—was granted. Since the 1970s, when the plans to build the dam were first made public, the project has encountered great opposition. Indigenous peoples and others who would adversely be affected by the construction of the Belo Monte Dam were supported by national and international NGOs that tried to halt the project through numerous strategic paths, one of which was by filing a case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Finally, in April 2011, the Commission granted an injunction in favor of the indigenous peoples of the Xingu River Basin that would be impacted by the dam, requesting the government to stop Belo Monte’s construction. However, Brazil argued that these peoples would not be affected and disregarded the request. This article, by looking at indigenous peoples’ substantive and procedural rights, assesses the possible adverse impacts on the indigenous peoples. Special attention is given * Vinodh Jaichand B.A., S.T.D. (UD-W); LL.B. (Natal); LL.M. (Miami); LL.M. (magna cum laude), S.J.D (summa cum laude) (Notre Dame). Professor and Director of the International Human Rights Exchange School for Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, former Deputy-Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland Galway and National Director of Lawyers for Human Rights, South Africa. ** Alexandre Andrade Sampaio is a Brazilian lawyer and holds an LL.M. (first class honors) in International Human Rights Law from the National University of Ireland, Galway. He is an active member of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian BAR Association of Campinas and has contributed to the work of the Special Procedures Branch of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law. He is currently the Right to Information Programme Officer of Article 19 South America. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, the aformentioned organizations. Human Rights Quarterly 35 (2013) 408–447 © 2013 by The Johns Hopkins University Press 2013 Dam and Be Damned 409 to the profound connection indigenous peoples have with their lands and how this connection impacts on their unique rights to self-determination, property, and culture. Considering the analysis of these rights, indigenous peoples’ right to be consulted in a free, prior, and informed manner is assessed. This article concludes that the adverse impacts that would result from Belo Monte’s construction are evident and the State’s conduct in carrying on with the project is in violation of national and international law. “God only makes a place like Belo Monte once in a while. This place was made for a dam.”1 Engineer involved in the planning of Belo Monte Dam “This dam kills the river. In killing the river, it kills us with it. So, we will die fighting.”2 Indigenous Kaiapo leader who objects to the building of the dam