The deforestation of the Amazon forest is costing Brazil immensely. An unprecedented study by Climate Policy Initiative / PUC-RIO (CPI / PUC-RIO) and Amazon2030 identifies that the Itaipu and Belo Monte plants, together, lose the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 1.5 million people due to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. The energy generation loss causes an annual shortfall of more than US$ 200 million in revenue for the plants.
According to Gustavo Pinto, Senior Analyst, CPI / PUC-RIO, “Hydropower is a renewable, inexpensive source of generation that provides greater flexibility for operating the electricity system. But it is also a source that is very vulnerable to changes in rainfall patterns. Deforestation of the Amazon affects not only the deforested area, but also negatively impacts plants located kilometers away from the biome.”
Itaipu is Brazil’s largest Hydroeletric Power Plant (HPP) and is located in the state of Paraná, more than 1,000 km from the border of the Amazon biome.
