Belo Monte Dam is a controversial mega dam being built in the Amazon on Indigenous land. The old project conceived during the military dictatorship (1964-1985), and which was revived by the Lula government, is the bête noire of Brazilian environmentalists due to the damage it will cause to a pristine region in the Amazon. It will pave the way to tens of other dams in (more…)

Mapal Energy, an Israeli start-up which develops and supplies advanced diffusers for wastewater purification plants, has completed a project in Brazil for the supply and installation of floating fine-bubble aeration units in the FLORES WWTP, state of São Paulo. Mapal’s units replaced the existing mechanical aerators, and provide 50% in energy savings while maintaining the quality of (more…)

Brazil is known for its non-fossil energy matrix largely thanks to its reliance on hydropower, which comes with its fair share of controversy as the case of the mega dam Belo Monte exemplifies. Wind power is starting to grow in the country but solar photovoltaic is still a minuscule, virtually non-existent industry.

Therefore, it comes as good news that the fifth global (more…)

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 77 percent from 2004 to 2011, but carbon emissions did not drop as steeply because of complex processes revealed during on-the-ground studies, scientists say.

While analysis of satellite images showed the three- (more…)

A previous post discussed the legal action brought by Brazilian developer Desenvix to compel Chinese wind turbine maker Sinovel to permit inspections of its turbines being imported into Brazil.

Due to the major copyright and trade secret lawsuits in China in which American Superconductor (AMSC) (more…)

A Brazilian judge has ordered a suspension of the controversial Belo Monte dam project, saying that local indigenous people who will be affected by the massive hydroelectric project were not sufficiently consulted during the environmental assessment process.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, Judge Souza Prudente of (more…)

In a previous post, I discussed some of the out of court business damage suffered by Sinovel as a result of the IP suits filed by American Superconductor (AMSC) against the Chinese wind turbine maker in China.

That post reported the news that Mainstream Renewable Power ditched Sinovel and was looking for (more…)

A team of British and Australian scientists has discovered an important carbon sink from water drawn down from the surface of the Southern Ocean to the deep waters beneath. The Southern Ocean is an important carbon sink in the world — around 40% of the annual global CO2 emissions absorbed by the world’s oceans enter through this region. Reporting this week (more…)

Conermex, one of the largest solar and wind power companies in Mexico, predicts that Mexico will double their capacity of solar within 2012, from 6 to 12 MW.

Mexico’s National Solar Energy Association (ANES) says that Mexico could possibly generate all their electricity with solar power in the future. (more…)

Recent policies enacted by the Brazilian government — including changes to its Forest Code and a push to build 30 new dams in the Amazon region — threaten to undermine critical environmental progress made by the nation over the last two decades, scientists say.

In a declaration published after its annual meeting (more…)