| South America
Director of Electropalmor, adds, it is also recognition of the hard work involved, showing that small-scale hydropower can support local development while protecting the watershed.
Going for gold In January 2026, after addressing gaps identified by an
earlier assessment, Brazil’s Santo Antônio Hydropower Project was awarded gold under the Hydropower Sustainability Standard. Located on the Madeira River in Rondônia State, the 3568MW project is owned by Santo Antônio Energia and Axia Energia, and as one of the largest hydropower plants in Latin America, it plays a critical role in Brazil’s energy mix. An earlier assessment of the project in 2014 identified sustainability performance gaps related to Indigenous Peoples and resettlement. Santo Antônio Energia has since taken action to close these gaps and the new assessment highlights how the project has: ● Provided fair compensation and benefits to affected communities.
● Ensured safe and equitable working conditions. ● Invested in biodiversity conservation programmes. In addition, monitoring data shows water quality and sediment levels have remained stable, and cultural heritage sites have been preserved. Genuine sustainability is a long-term commitment, and achieving gold certification is a testament to years of persistent effort for Santo Antônio, the Hydropower Sustainability Alliance’s Joao Costa comments. Co-owner of the project, Axia Energia views the certification as a landmark achievement that will catalyse its legacy of operating large-scale projects aligned with social and environmental objectives. It says a key lesson from this process was the importance of sustained dialogue and continuous presence in the territories affected by the project. Strengthening relationships with Indigenous Peoples, local communities and public authorities requires patience, listening and adaptability, as well as respect for different perspectives and expectations. Social management is an ongoing commitment, the company says. Santo Antônio is the third hydropower project in Brazil
to achieve certification under the HSS. Axia Energia believes its experiences here can help inform broader
Top four countries in South America to add capacity in 2024
1. Ecuador 2. Brazil
– 227MW – 66MW
3. Chile 4. Colombia
discussions in South America about how hydropower projects can seek continuous improvement and responsible operation over time, whilst acknowledging this depends on continuous effort and collaboration.
A unique case Collaboration has also been at the forefront of the Itaipu
Binacional Hydroelectric Plant on the Parana River, which is jointly governed by Brazil and Paraguay. As Julia Souza Luiz and Marina Rodrigues Mesquita discuss in Development Policy Review, the scheme ‘offers a unique case for examining how shared governance can transform potential conflict into coordinated development in South America’.
Given the magnitude of the Parana River basin which
runs through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina and which is second in size only to the Amazon, a wide array of academic studies have already examined the basin from ecological, political, and institutional perspectives. However, this new piece of research has focused specifically on the historical negotiations surrounding the construction of the plant. It also analyses how cooperation can transform rivalry into a pathway for regional cooperation and sustainable development, focusing on its shared governance. Indeed, for this cooperation to materialise, deep-seated rivalries and historical conflicts had to be overcome to enable the joint use of shared water resources for energy generation.
As the authors state, Brazil and Paraguay created a framework that balanced their mutual interests relating to energy security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability by skilfully negotiating political and legal challenges.
However, the Itaipu case also draws attention to the complexities and inconsistencies that come with
– 49MW – 12MW
Left: The Agoyan hydroelectric power station in Ecuador. Ecuador added 227MW of hydropower capacity in 2024 – the top country to do so across South America
www.waterpowermagazine.com | April 2026 | 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
