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Deforestation in the Amazon is costing two of Brazil's most important hydro-electric power plants (HPPs) yearly energy generation on par with the electricity consumption of 1.5 million people. According to a study from the nonprofit Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), Brazil's Itaipu and Belo Monte HPPs are losing as much as $200 million in annual revenue to deforestation.
The CPI describes how deforestation of the Amazon rainforest can lead to changes in rainfall patterns in river basins, reducing the overall flow of those rivers, and impacting the water used to generate electricity at the two plants. In 2023, hydro-electricity accounted for nearly half of Brazil's installed energy capacity, and more than 60% of its total electricity generation. Itaipu — located roughly 600 miles from the border of the Amazon biome — is the largest hydro-electric plant in the country, while Belo Monte sits inside the Amazon biome, and is Brazil's second largest HPP.
Combined, they generate 23% of Brazil's electricity, and as so-called "run-of-river" facilities, they rely heavily on rainfall and the natural flow of rivers from the Amazon. Essentially, air currents known as "flying rivers" move through the Amazon east of the Andes, and the lush forests of the region play a crucial role in feeding moisture into those currents. But, when flying rivers pass through deforested areas, they're deprived of the moisture needed to generate humid weather and rain, which reduces the flow of rivers responsible for generating energy for nearby HPPs.
When Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2023, he vowed to end deforestation by 2030, after rainforest destruction rose to a 12-year high under da Silva's predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. BBC News reports that the rate of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell by nearly 50% year-over-year in 2023, and then by another 7% in 2024, according to conservation nonprofit Imazon..
