As Brazilian green advocates digest the government’s latest long-term electric-power strategy, they have come to feel equal parts encouraged and queasy. The latest 10-year Energy Expansion Plan, released in late April to cover the period 2010-2019, calls for investing R$214 billion (US$120 billion) in electrical energy over the next ten years to accommodate projected 5.4% annual increases in power demand during the period. Environmental groups are glad that compared to the previous plan, released in 2008, the new blueprint provides for a smaller increase in electricity generation from fossil-fueled power plants, and a larger increase in power derived from non-hydroelectric, renewable sources. At the same time, they blanch at the plan’s provisions for six new hydroelectric dams in... [Log in to read more]