Brazil approves Amazon hydroelectric dam
The environmental agency Ibama granted a consortium including the French utilities giant Suez the license to build the Jirau dam on the Madeira River, an Ibama spokesman said.
The Jirau project and the nearby Santo Antonio dam are part of a plan to dam one of the Amazon river's biggest tributaries to ensure Brazil's economy will have sufficient energy supplies over the next decade.
The two dams, which together form the $13 billion, 6,450 megawatt Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex, will also create a waterway that would reduce shipping costs for Brazil's agriculture exports.
Environmentalists say the dam could dramatically change the nearby ecosystem by flooding hundreds of thousands of hectares, and they insist the government has not provided enough safeguards to prevent ecological damage.
A dispute between Suez and Brazilian construction company Odebrecht over the location of Jirau threatened to spark lawsuits that would have delayed the project, but the companies later agreed to settle out of court.
Suez is the lead partner in a consortium developing Jirau that also includes Brazilian state companies Eletrosul, Chesf and construction company Camargo Correa.
Related News
Ontario, Quebec to swap energy in new deal to help with electricity demands
TORONTO - Ontario and Quebec have agreed to swap energy to help each other out when electricity demands peak.
The provinces' electricity operators, the Independent Electricity System Operator and Hydro-Quebec, will trade up to 600 megawatts of energy each year, said Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith.
“The deal just makes a lot of sense from both sides,” Smith said in an interview.
“The beauty as well is that Quebec and Ontario are amongst the cleanest grids around.”
The majority of Ontario's power comes from nuclear energy while the majority of Quebec's energy comes from hydroelectric power.
The deal works because Ontario and Quebec's energy peaks…
