Latin America goes electric: The growing social challenges of hydroelectric development. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MPE.2013.2245586

Abstract

The article describes the growing social challenges of largescale hydroelectric development in Latin America. Large projects formulated in recent years have had various difficulties, with many common elements and new cultural, social, and political restrictions. By 2035, electricity demand would nearly double the current demand in the region. The challenge is how to respond to this and also reduce CO2 emissions. Hydroelectric potential in the region is on the order of 3,500 TWh, but all related projects are facing a number of difficulties that are essentially social. The authors analyze sources of conflict in four South American cases of largescale hydroelectric projects. The challenges encountered are increased citizen participation, transforming community demands, new forms of participation and citizen conflict, indigenous people, internationalization, and judicialization of project development.