Assessment of the potential of small hydropower development in Brazil

This paper aims to show the current context of Small Hydro Power Plants (SHPs) in Brazil, presenting and discussing the institutional acts, regulations for growth of the SHP, public and private policies for the sector and growth prospects. After the restructuring of the Brazilian electricity sector, a series of laws, decrees and resolutions were developed with the purpose of regulating the sector in favor of SHPs. In 2001, the number of SHPs in Brazil was 303 with an installed capacity of 855 MW. Over the years, with the changes in the sector and, in 2010, the number of buildings has reached 387, with an installed capacity of 3428 MW. Today, they are 475 SHPs in operation with the generation capacity in the country, around 4799 MW, representing 3.49% of all Brazilian energy matrix. It is estimated that in 2020 the installed capacity will be approximately 6500 MW, but there is more potential available in the country for SHPs, that has great technical and environmental characteristics. It is concluded that more attention must be given by the government policies of the electricity sector to reach in the future the full the potential of SHPs available in Brazil.