Energy production and sustainability: A study of Belo Monte hydroelectric power plant |
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| Authors: | Issa Ibrahim Berchin Jéssica Garcia Mauri Luiz Heerdt Angélica de Quevedo Moreira Ana Clara Medeiros da Silveira José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra |
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| Affiliation: | Universidade do Sul de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | The increase in energy demand due to economic and population growth necessitates the expansion of the Brazilian energy supply. Hydropower energy, a renewable energy source, arguably clean, presents an energy solution for many countries such as Brazil, with large hydric reservoirs, which help them reduce energy dependence on fossil and imported fuel sources. However, it must be emphasized that without careful planning, the creation of hydropower plants will cause severe social and environmental damage due to the large areas that need to be flooded for the implementation of these plants. The installation of hydropower plants floods vast forest areas, causing loss of biodiversity, displacement of native Brazilian people and riverside populations, and changes to the water acid levels and the natural course of rivers. To mitigate these effects, authorities must first conduct a study on installation possibilities and potential socio‐environmental consequences, to be interpreted and used by the agents involved. Aiming to analyze the social‐environmental impacts of the hydropower plants, this research seeks to investigate the capacity of mitigation of the negative effects of the implementation of the hydropower plants, specifically with regard to the Belo Monte plant, Brazil. |
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| Keywords: | Energy hydroelectric power Belo Monte mitigation sustainability |
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