Spatial injustice to energy access in the shadow of hydropower in Brazil

María Alejandra García, Adam Mayer, Igor Cavallini Johansen, Maria Claudia Lopez and Emilio F. Moran

World Development, 2024, vol. 178, issue C

Abstract: Hydroelectric dams generate adverse social and ecological consequences for communities in their vicinity, particularly those situated in rural areas, far from urban centers, and lacking significant political and economic influence. There is relatively little research on how hydroelectric projects change local energy services. In this study, we investigate whether Jirau and Santo Antônio—two dams in the Brazilian Amazon—have impacted energy sources, access, and electricity prices for households in communities near the construction sites using survey data and geospatial analysis. We evaluate these changes' spatial and political determinants. Our findings reveal that certain households still rely on diesel generators for their electricity. Furthermore, we find that communities experienced spatial injustices in energy access. Spatial and political factors explain differences in energy sources and access between households. Households adversely affected by construction, particularly those in distant upstream and downstream communities, those who were not resettled, and those who did not engage directly in negotiations with dam builders, were less likely to experience improvements in energy access and sources. Most of these households perceived that their energy prices increased after the construction. Our study implies that hydroelectric dams do not consistently improve energy access in nearby communities and, in fact, contribute to the persistence of spatial injustices.

Keywords: Spatial justice; Energy justice; Energy access; Hydroelectric dams; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X24000408
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:178:y:2024:i:c:s0305750x24000408

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106570

Access Statistics for this article

World Development is currently edited by O. T. Coomes

More articles in World Development from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().