Brazil’s Hydropower Generation Returns as Historic Drought Eases

One of the biggest hydropower plants in South America is ramping up electricity generation as the historic drought in the Amazon in September and October has eased and the rainy season has begun.

The Santo Antonio hydropower plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon has even managed to generate some electricity during the drought this year after lessons learned from last year’s drought, the plant’s president Caio Pompeu Neto has told Reuters.

Santo Antonio, operated by Latin America’s biggest power utility Eletrobras, has created this year a system to artificially raise downstream water levels, Neto said.

Santo Antonio has a capacity to generate more than 3 gigawatts (GW). Thanks to changes in the plant’s operations, it managed to generate about 400 megawatts (MW) during the peak drought months in September and October, when water levels on the Madeira River slumped to a record low, the plant’s executive told Reuters.

In October 2024, rivers in the Amazon basin fell to record-low levels in as drought gripped vast areas of South America. Hydroelectric power generation was affected in parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

Hydropower is the single biggest electricity source in Brazil, accounting for around 60% of all power generation.

Last year, for example, Brazil generated as much as 91% of its electricity from clean energy sources, climate think tank Ember said in October. With hydropower at 60% of power generation, and another 21% coming from wind and solar, Brazil has one of the cleanest power mixes, well above the global average of 39%, according to Ember.

Last year, the think tank estimated Brazil relied on fossil fuels for just 9% of its electricity.

However, severe droughts and lower power output at hydroelectric plants often lead to Brazil resorting to increased imports of LNG to meet demand without sacrificing energy security.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com