Norte Energia

Fight Over Belo Monte Legality Reaches Boiling Point

The illegality of the Belo Monte Dam is reaching a boiling point.
Recent evidence illustrates that Norte Energia, the consortium under contract to build the Belo Monte Dam, has not completed the 66 social and environmental pre-requisites issued by IBAMA, Brazil's environmental agency, as part of the preliminary environmental license granted in 2010.

Belo Monte Ads Take to the Air

Norte Energia PR Video Shows Passive, Smiling Indigenous People
Recently, Belo Monte consortium Norte Energia (NESA) hired a PR firm to run video spots in 17 Brazilian airports in an effort to shape the public opinion of Brazil's growing middle and wealthy classes. One video spot features complacent, naked indigenous people, standing and smiling passively with their hands behind their backs as the Xingu River runs calmly through their digital landscape. Of course, the Belo Monte Dam and reservoirs – which we modeled in Google Earth – are nowhere to be seen.

Mining Giant Joins Belo Monte Dam

Vale's Amazon blemish. An aerial view of the Carajás mines.
Vale's Amazon blemish. An aerial view of the Carajás mines. infoescola.com The world's second-largest mining corporation, Vale, has stepped into one of the world's most controversial dams: Belo Monte. With its new share in the dam, Vale – and the Brazilian government – are banking on the hope that the electricity from so-called "clean" dams can power Brazil's continued export of commodities to China. In the case of the Amazon, Belo Monte may help power a record expansion of dirty mining. In so many ways, a nightmare "Avatar" scenario is ever closer to reality. Hydropower – far from t

Regional Judge Overturns Ban on Construction of Controversial Belo Monte Dam

Saturday, March 5, 2011
Decision allows for forest clearance and start-up of dam construction to begin, despite violations of human rights and environmental legislation Brasília, Brazil – In yet another turn of events in the increasingly heated legal and political battle over the controversial Belo Monte dam complex, on Thursday the president of a federal regional court in Brasilia, Olindo Menezes, overturned a decision by federal judge Ronaldo Destêrro that prohibited initial construction to commence on the mega-project – slated to be the world's third largest dam - along the Xingu river in the heart of th

On Carnaval, Belo Monte Installation Begins

Norte Energia Begins Initial Installation of Belo Monte without Full License
Norte Energia Begins Initial Installation of Belo Monte without Full License On February 25th, a judge suspended the partial installation license for Belo Monte Dam.   On Thursday March 3rd, a regional judge overturned the suspension in a politically questionable ruling.  And today, Norte Energia is celebrating Carnaval on the Xingu by beginning project installation, ignoring social and environmental prerequisites.  According to the government, it's a matter of national security; and according to a letter from Brazilian bank BNDES, loan conditions have been violated.  Happy Carnaval.

Developer Backing Out of Loan for Construction of Risky Belo Monte Dam

Thursday, February 3, 2011
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—After learning that the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) will not release funds from the $640 million bridge loan issued in late December unless Brazilian legislation is honored, the dam consortium Norte Energia, S.A. (NESA) is threatening to drop the loan and is now seeking private funders to finance initial construction on the Belo Monte Dam Complex in the Brazilian Amazon. This follows last week’s issuance of a “partial” installation license—non-existent within Brazilian environmental legislation—by Brazil’s environmental agency IBAMA, allowin
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