Environmental Licensing, Energy and Development in Amazonia

This is the case with the environmental licensing of the Jirau hydroelectric plant, part of the Madeira River Hydroelectric Complex. The starting point for the research was the allegation that the environmental licensing of hydroelectric plants hinders Brazilian development. In order to tackle this argument, I raised the suspicion that it is partly wrong. To confirm or deny my suspicion, I surveyed the acts of the administrative process and the lawsuits filed by different parties regarding the licensing of the Jirau HPP, conducted semi-structured interviews with some of the people involved in this process, and consulted documents from the state agencies related to the case, as well as documents from the consortia of companies that bid for the power generation auction. The Jirau case cannot be accused of creating temporary obstacles to the expansion of the energy supply needed for Brazilian development due to excessive bureaucracy and institutional weaknesses at the agency. The fear of criminalisation of technicians has increased the level of requirements and the system of administrative and judicial control has exposed crucial licensing issues to society.