Environmental

Severe, prolonged drought forces Northern Brazil to limit hydropower

Severe, prolonged drought forces Northern Brazil to limit hydropower
The Castanhao Dam in Ceara, Brazil during severe drought (courtesy: Leandro Castro/Funceme)

The dry season has started early in the Amazon, and water levels are already so low in River Madeira that officials are recommending limiting hydropower in Northern Brazil, just like last year.

On Wednesday, the Electric Sector Monitoring Committee (CMSE) suggested using more thermal energy sources, importing electricity from neighboring Paraguay and Uruguay, and shifting energy consumption away from times of peak demand. Hydroelectricity is Brazil’s main power source, accounting for over 60% of installed capacity.

River Madeira powers two of Brazil’s largest hydroelectric plants, Santo Antonio and Jirau. Located in Porto Velho, Santo Antonio has a capacity of 3,580 MW. Jirau, in the state of Rondonia, boasts 50 turbines that can generate 75 MW each, granting it a total installed capacity of 3,750 MW. 

In several Amazonian rivers, water levels are the lowest on record for this time of year. Historically, the driest months are August and September, when fire and deforestation peak. The depth of the Madeira River dipped below 3 m (10 feet) near Porto Velho on July 20, according to the Associated Press. In 2023, that occurred nearly a month later, on Aug. 15.

“The Amazon Basin is facing one of the most severe droughts in recent years in 2024, with significant impacts on several member countries,” reads a note issued by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Drought conditions may last until at least Nov. 30, Brazil’s National Water Agency (ANA) said last week.

Last Monday, Brazil’s federal water agency declared a water shortage in the Madeira and Purus basins. The following day, Acre state declared an emergency amid an impending water shortage in its main city. These declarations came more than two months earlier than last year, when the bulk of the Amazon basin suffered its worst drought ever recorded.

The level of water in the reservoirs of Brazil’s southeast/center-west hydroelectric system ended 2022 at about 50% of capacity, double what they were in 2021, per national grid operator ONS. The southeast/center-west system is the country’s main hydroelectric generating region, accounting for 70% of national reservoir water storage capacity, according to BNamericas.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press