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The Belo Monte Power Plant, the largest 100% Brazilian dam, has a history full of controversies, environmental challenges and social impacts.
The Belo Monte Power Plant, located on the Xingu River in the state of Pará, is one of the most impressive engineering projects in Brazil and the largest 100% Brazilian dam. With a generation capacity of 11.233 MW, enough to supply 60 million consumers in 17 states, Belo Monte represents a technological achievement and a milestone in energy production in the country.
However, the plant has also become synonymous with controversy, involving conflicts with local communities, environmental concerns and questions about its efficiency.
Belo Monte is today the fourth largest hydroelectric plant in the world, behind only of enterprises such as the Three Gorges in China, and the Itaipu power plant itself, which is shared with Paraguay.
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Since its inception, the Belo Monte Power Plant project has sparked intense discussions, dividing opinions between the need to expand the national energy matrix and the impacts caused to indigenous populations and the environment.
A controversial project from the start at the Belo Monte Power Plant
The history of the Belo Monte Power Plant dates back to 1975, when hydroelectric studies began in the Xingu River basin, highlighting the region's energy potential.
In 1989, the project attracted national and international attention due to the strong protest by indigenous leader Tuíra Kayapó, who marked the meeting of indigenous peoples in Altamira by raising a machete against the representative of Eletronorte. Since then, the Belo Monte Dam has been a symbol of resistance for indigenous communities and environmentalists.
To build the Belo Monte Power Plant, it was necessary to build a 478 km² reservoir, accompanied by a diversion channel and a main spillway to control the water flow.
The dam's location in a remote region of the Amazon brought enormous logistical challenges and required the creation of access roads and camps for thousands of workers.
However, the construction resulted in drastic changes to the Xingu River ecosystem, affecting the fauna, flora and livelihoods of local communities.
The largest 100% Brazilian dam also received criticism for its low efficiency of the turbines, which operate at only 20% of their capacity during dry periods.
Compensations and social programs
Aware of the impacts caused, the government and the companies involved invested in a broad environmental and social compensation program. Over the course of nine years, more than 5.000 actions were carried out, including the recovery of degraded areas and the replanting of native species.
These efforts extended to the construction of basic infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and roads, benefiting affected communities.
Still, criticism continues over the disorderly population growth in areas around Altamira and the increasing pressure on local public services.
Who was involved?
The construction of the Belo Monte Power Plant involved a number of stakeholders, from the federal government to the country’s largest construction companies. The project gained momentum in the 2000s, especially during the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who included Belo Monte in the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), reinforcing the idea that the plant was essential to expanding Brazil’s energy matrix.
The work was continued under the government of Dilma Rousseff, who also defended Belo Monte as a milestone for Brazil's development, despite the controversies and protests that surrounded it.
The Norte Energia SA consortium, created to build and operate the plant, was responsible for the project. It brought together several companies and agencies, including Chesf (Companhia Hidro Elétrica do São Francisco) and the state-owned companies Eletrobras and Eletronorte.
In addition, some of the largest Brazilian construction companies, such as Andrade Gutierrez, Odebrecht and Camargo Corrêa, also joined the consortium and took care of the main civil engineering works. The construction was supported by a billion-dollar contribution from BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), which guaranteed the financial viability of the project.
Over the years, Belo Monte has faced a wave of protests and resistance, mainly from organizations such as Greenpeace and the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), which have warned about the environmental and social impacts.
The construction of the plant drastically transformed the region, affecting indigenous and riverside communities that depended on the Xingu River for their subsistence.
The project is still seen today as a symbol of the dispute between progress and environmental preservation, and continues to divide opinions between those who believe in the energy potential of Belo Monte and those who denounce the irreversible damage caused to the ecosystem and local populations.
The water crisis and the future of Belo Monte
In recent years, the Belo Monte plant has faced one of its greatest challenges: the lack of rainfall. In September 2024, during the worst drought ever recorded in the region, Belo Monte generated only 323 MW, less than 3% of its total capacity.
The plant's dependence on rainfall compromises its economic viability, questioning whether the billion-dollar investment in the largest 100% Brazilian dam really brought the promised benefits.
Despite all the controversy and challenges faced, the Belo Monte Dam remains an example of how large projects can impact development, the environment and communities.
The story of the Belo Monte Power Plant is far from over,my future still depends of many factors, from environmental balance to the country's energy needs.
Belo Monte, because of the pressures, is a run-of-the-river project, that is, without a large reservoir, because of environmentalism **** in this case, they will now have to build dams above the plant to maintain water during the dry season, if this is not done, over time and during droughts it will be used less and less.