Brazil’s national energy policy council has approved plans for a concession auction of the 11,182-MW Belo Monte hydroelectric project to be built on the Xingu River.
The Conselho Nacional de Politica Energetica (CNPE) confirmed June 22, 2009, the plans to carry out the auction of Belo Monte in the second half of 2009. Government officials previously predicted bids to build and operate the project would be taken September 30. (HydroWorld 6/5/09)
Belo Monte is one of the major energy projects being promoted under Brazil’s Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), which provides more favorable financing to investors. If the auction proceeds as planned, Belo Monte is expected to be completed by April 2014 for an estimated investment of 7 billion reais (US$2.8 billion).
Court action might prove a problem for the proposed auction date. A federal court in Para State suspended the national environmental agency’s approval of environmental studies for the project.
Environmental agency Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis (Ibama) had accepted on May 25 the documentation presented by national utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S/A (Eletrobras). However, the court suspended the approval of the studies. The action suspends licensing of the hydro project until Ibama explains the situation.
The federal prosecution service in Para said a portion of the demanded documents still were missing, including anthropological studies on the native communities affected by the project. Attorney General Rodrigo Timoteo said the indigenous peoples question caused debate and controversy about the project, so that Ibama cannot accept the studies with that gap.
