2017-08-10 00:00:00 | New dams planned in Amazon’s Aripuanã basin

Brazilian company, Intertechne Consultores, has asked Aneel, the federal Agency for Electric Energy, to authorize viability studies to build three new dams in the Aripuanã river basin, the Sumaúma and Quebra Remo dams along the Aripuanã River itself and the Inferninho dam along its tributary, the Roosevelt River. The company has worked on several dams in the Amazon, including the controversial Belo Monte dam. The Aripuanã basin is considered one of the best-preserved regions in Amazonia with a high level of endemic plants and animals. While there are, as yet, no dams on the Roosevelt River, there are already four on the Aripuana, which is a tributary of the Madeira river, which flows north from Bolivia to join the Amazon at Itacoatiara (source Mongabay).

2017-07-04 00:00:00 | Second suspension of Belo Monte operating license

The operating license for Brazil's 11.2-GW Belo Monte hydroelectric plant has been suspended by a federal court following allegations that the project's owners did not meet environmental requirements. Per an agreement made with the Brazilian watchdog organization Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources (Ibama), developer Norte Energia SA was to have provided basic sanitation works in Altamira before filling the project's reservoir. Prosecutors said those works were never completed, causing the court to suspend the operating license yesterday. This suspension marks the second time Belo Monte's has had its license suspended on accusations of near-identical reasons (source Hydroworld.com).

2016-09-13 00:00:00 | Operation license for Amazon’s Belo Monte mega-dam suspended

A Brazilian judge has suspended the operating license of the controversial Belo Monte dam in the Amazon because the Norte Energia consortium, the dam’s builder and operator, failed to meet a key compensation commitment required by the federal government. In exchange for the right to build and run the dam, Norte Energia originally agreed to install drinking water and sewage systems for the city of Altamira, with completion due in July 2014. The court allowed an extension to September 1, 2016, but the system is still not complete (source Mongabay).

2016-04-08 00:00:00 | Brazil: insider claims Rousseff coalition took funds from Belo Monte mega-dam

According to The Guardian: A senoir constuction executive has testified that the Belo Monte dam was used to generate USD 41.4 million in donations to the ruling coalition. The ruling Workers party and its former coalition partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, were allegedly paid USD 20 million each by the three construction companies. The companies initially lost the bid to build the Belo Monte, but were later added to the consortium. Although the authorities deny the payments and donations, conservationists and human rights activists state that this explains why the project went ahead regardless of the concers about the environmental and social impact.

2016-01-15 00:00:00 | Operations delayed by court ruling on indigenous people

According to The Guardian: The start of operations at Brazil's Belo Monte dam could be held up following a court judgment that operators have yet to provide adequate support to indigenous groups affected by the giant construction. The world's fourth biggest hydropower plant was due to test its first turbines within weeks on a stretch of the Xingu river in the Amazon that is a centre of ethnic and biological diversity. But even as the reservoirs begin to fill, the controversy that has dogged the project since its inception continues unabated, raising the possibility that completion - already years behind schedule - could be further delayed.

2015-09-24 00:00:00 | Brazil’s Environmental Agency Denies Operating License to Controversial Belo Monte Dam

Blue & Green Tomorrow reports: "On Tuesday night, the Brazilian press reported that the country's Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) had temporarily denied Norte Energia's request for an operating license for Belo Monte Dam. The reports cited serious examples of non-compliance with legally required measures to mitigate and compensate project impacts. Without the license, Norte Energia cannot close floodgates and fill a reservoir that will flood large portions of the city of Altamira before it begins generating power."

2012-08-30 00:00:00 | Work on Belo Monte dam resumes

Construction on the Belo Monte dam will resume due to the Brazilian Supreme Court's decision to overturn the suspension of the project. Pressure from President Rousseff's administration contributed to the overturning of the August 14th ruling by a regional federal court to stop construction of the dam. For more information please click here.

2012-03-08 00:00:00 | Munich Re excluded from Global Challenges Index due to violation of environmental standards (belo Monte)

The construction of the Belo Monte dam in the Amazon region of Brazil has come under heavy criticism, because of the impact the dam may have on the environment and local residents. Experts anticipate that it will have adverse effects on the Amazon rainforest, particularly on species diversity and also on the livelihoods of the indigenous inhabitants. Due to its involvement in this project, Munich Re has been excluded from the Global Challenges Index (GCX). By agreeing to provide cover for the construction phase of the project, the reinsurer violated the GCX’s strict environmental regulations.

The UK retailer J Sainsbury has taken Munich Re’s place in the index. The retailer’s impressive credentials include a good system for ensuring compliance with social standards in the supply chain. It promotes the sale of products which meet particular social or environmental requirements, such as fair trade products. It has implemented comprehensive measures to improve transport efficiency and thereby cut CO2 emissions. Another company promoted to the index is the US food producer Hain Celestial. The company generates the bulk of its turnover from the production and sale of organic foodstuffs. Hain Celestial replaces the US technology company Energy Conversion Devices, which no longer meets the GCX’s market capitalisation requirements.

2012-03-07 00:00:00 | ILO states: Brazil Violated Convention 169 in Belo Monte Case

According to a report published by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations for the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Brazilian government violated the rights of indigenous communities via their spearheading of the Belo Monte Dam project in the Amazon region. ILO Convention 169, which was enacted in Brazil in 2004, states that indigenous and tribal people have the right to free, prior and informed consultation with regards to projects and/or state actions that may impact their property or rights. In light of the lack of consultation with tribal groups, the report outlines recommendations that the Brazilian government can take in order to adhere to the Convention's requirements.  Please click here for more information.    

2011-11-08 00:00:00 | New developments

On October 27, 2011, the Belo Monte Dam construction site was occupied by 400 indigenous people, fishermen and riverine community members. They oppose the project due to its severe environmental impacts and human rights violations. Norte Energia, S.A. ordered the military police to clear the area, which took place the following day.

In October, a lawsuit, regarding lack of prior consultation which affected indigenous communities, began trial in the Brazilian Regional Federal Tribunal.  Federal judge Selene Maria de Almeida argued that the Belo Monte Dam licenses are illegal and must be cancelled due to evidence that the Brazilian government did not hold proper consultations.  A second judge argued to the contrary. A third judge also argued to the contrary on a decision given November 9, 2011.  

There are currently at least 12 lawsuits pending in Brazilian courts pertaining to Belo Monte Dam. 

The IACHR of the Organization of American States is currently weighing the possibility of an action against the Brazilian government for having failed to undergo thorough consultations of affected indigenous communities.

On June 1, the Brazilian government approved an Installation License for the controversial Belo Monte Dam in the Amazon.  The environmental agency IBAMA approved the Installation License without project developer Norte Energia (75% owned by the government) fulfilling the 40 social-environmental prerequisites to the project that had been mandated in 2010.  There is now an 11th lawsuit as a result (read more).

After news of the installation license was released over the internet, street protests against Belo Monte began to erupt in São Paulo, Rio, Salvador, Belém, and in the Xingu basin itself, where last weekend legendary Kayapó chief Raoni convened men and women from the tribe to protest in the town of Colider, dancing and chanting war songs, vowing to put their lives on the line to resist Belo Monte (read more).

On February 25, judge Ronaldo Destêrro of a Federal Court in Belém suspended IBAMA's partial license, halting any construction efforts, and preventing BNDES from releasing any funds, until the 40 conditions of the dam's environmental license were met.

In February 2011, Curt Trennepohl subsituted Americo Tunes as the new president of IBAMA.

In January 2011, Abelardo Bayma Azevedo resigned as President of IBAMA, over pressure to approve an Installation License for Belo Monte Dam.  In February 2011, interim IBAMA President Americo Tunes approved a "partial" installation license, considered illegal by Brazilian lawmakers, and issued authorizations to begin vegetation clearing in the project's easement areas.

Eletrobras announced in August, 2010 that it would purchase 30% of electricity from Belo Monte destined to both the free market and the autoprodutor market, and then resell to the autoprodutores, so as to insure that the electricity would have a buyer (source: O Globo).

The government has assigned 70% of Belo Monte's electricity (3093 MW) to the captive market for public consumption, at a price of R$78 (around USD $45) per MWh.  20% of the electricity (884 MW) will be bought by Eletrobras at a price of R$130 (around USD $74) per MWh to be sold on the free market.  The remaining 10% of the electricity (442 MW) is assigned specifically for consumption by autoprodutores, or energy-intensive industries who both produce and consume energy, at a price of R$100 (around USD $57) per MWh (source: Valor Econômico).

The Federal Attorney General's office in Brazil is currently investigating the possibility that the auction was held before an appellate court lifted the third restraining order, which would make the auction results illegal.

BNDES will fund at least 80% of the project costs (estimated between US$11bn and US$18bn), and the remaining 20% will be financed by the Norte Energia consortium. 

On May 25, 2010 three members of the consortium building the dam decided to pull out. Their reasoning for pulling out is based on what they deem "growing state control of the project".

Despite three federal restraining orders to halt the project auction, on April 20, 2010 the Norte Energia consortium won the right to build the Belo Monte hydro electric dam on the Xingu river. The Norte Energia consortium is led by Eletronorte, a subsidiary of state-owned utility holding group Eletrobras, and currently includes the participation of 18 companies.