Greenwire: The Brazilian government has appealed a decision that stopped bidding on the construction contract for the Belo Monte hydroelectric facility, a project in the Amazon rain forest that has drawn fierce opposition from environmentalists.
Belo Monte, which would be the world’s third largest dam if built, is seen by the government as a key provider of renewable energy for decades to come. The $11 billion, 11,000-megawatt facility would provide 6 percent of Brazil’s electricity needs by 2014, strengthening the grid in a country that experienced a massive round of blackouts last summer.
“I am confident the environmental license will be granted to Belo Monte,” said Pedro Alberto Bignelli, director of licensing at Ibama, Brazil’s environmental protection agency. “The result of three years of work and analysis will be upheld when the government appeals.”
Environmentalists and indigenous Amazon residents contend the project will destroy wildlife habitats and cause massive flooding, taking away the livelihoods of thousands of residents. It has become a cause célèbre, prompting “Avatar” director James Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver to protest the project in advance of the court decision Thursday in Brasilia.
“No one is naive,” said Atossa Soltani, executive director of advocacy group Amazon Watch. “Everyone recognizes that in Brazil a decision like this could be overturned quickly, and that we haven’t won the battle yet” (Alan Clendenning, Associated Press, April 16). – GN