This study points out that hydroelectric plants will continue to play a prominent role in the Brazilian electric matrix. A significant portion of the potential hydroelectric plants of the country is located in the Amazon, environmentally sensitive region. The licensing of hydroelectric projects...

Madagascar has enormous energy resources, particularly renewable ones (hydraulic, solar, wind, biomass), but national energy consumption is still very low, and is dominated by wood energy and its by-products. Madagascar imports all of its petrol products, and energy costs are too high to...

Peru is favored by a stable and growing economy and the availability of indigenous sources of energy for electricity generation, hydro and natural gas. Installed capacity in Peru in 2006 was 6658 MW, of which 48 percent was hydro-based. However, regarding new investment in generation, there is...

The Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project is a major run-of-river power project designed to meet the acute shortage of power in Pakistan. It is being implemented by the Water and Power Development Authority of Pakistan (WAPDA). The project consists of a barrage located near Ghazi village in the North...

After a period of stagnation, the story of hydropower infrastructure is changing. Emerging global dynamics are recasting the role and value of hydropower in development, recognizing its potential contribution to a complex web of energy security, water security and regional development and...

Brazil is confronted with steadily increasing demands for electricity. The country has the ability to meet that demand by developing its considerable hydropower potential, but the regulatory process that governs the approval of new hydroelectric plants imposes unnecessary delays that push up...

The World Bank began a three-year pilot initiative to develop a framework for enhancing development benefits to local communities in hydropower projects. There has been a wide array of approaches in the past two decades that all have in common the objective of designing and implementing means...

The technical workshop on enhancing development benefits to local communities in hydropower projects was held in Washington, D.C., on June 26, 2008. It was hosted by the Social Development Department (SDV) and Water Anchor (ETWWA) of the World Bank. The workshop aimed to provide a platform for a...

Bhutan has shown remarkable economic performance over the last two decades. Growth during the second half of the 1990s was particularly strong, with annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaging 6.5 percent. A large part of this performance has been supported by generous inflows of...