Environmental licensing process of power transmission in Brazil update analysis: Case study of the Madeira transmission system Ricardo Abranches Felix Cardoso Júnior a,n , Alessandra Magrini a , Antonio Ferreira da Hora b a Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Centro de Tecnologia, bloco C, sala 211 – CEP: 21949-972. Cidade Universitária – Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro – RJ – Caixa Postal: 68565, Brazil b Universidade Federal Fluminense, Escola de Engenharia, Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola e Meio Ambiente, Rua Passo da Pátria,156, Bloco D sala 218 – São Domingos – Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, CEP 24210-240, Brazil HIGHLIGHTS  Criticisms that Brazil 0 s environmental licensing delays electrical sector planning.  Brazilian Environmental Licensing for power transmission has recently been updated.  We present the historical evolution of Brazilian environmental licensing of electricity transmission systems.  We analyze whether critical aspects were resolved by the reformulated legislation and regulations. article info Article history: Received 20 January 2013 Received in revised form 12 December 2013 Accepted 16 December 2013 Available online 10 January 2014 Keywords: Brazilian Environmental Licensing Power Transmission Electricity Sector Planning abstract This paper presents the evolution of the environmental licensing process in Brazil, with focus on transmission lines, identifying and evaluating its critical aspects. For this purpose, we analyze the modalities of insertion of the environmental variable in planning for the Brazilian electric power sector, present an overview of the complexities of energy transmission in the country and describe the evolution of the environmental licensing process, in particular its application to the Madeira transmission line, the world 0 s longest high-voltage direct current line at 2375 km, which connects the northern and southern regions of the country. Finally, we succinctly describe the latest developments of the country 0 s environmental legislation, presenting the advances achieved and future challenges. & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Brazil obtains the great majority of its electricity from hydroelectric generation, and expansion is based mainly on projects in the northern region, with a forecast for an increase in installed capacity of 32 GW by 2021 (EPE, 2011). As examples, the Madeira River and Belo Monte hydropower projects, currently under construction, can be mentioned. However, these are distant from the main consumption centers in the southeastern region, thus requiring investments in complex transmis- sion undertakings, which face a variety of challenges related to environmental licensing. Environmental impact assessment is a useful instrument for identification, quantification and definition of measures to mitigate the possible impacts of the construction and operation of transmis- sion lines (Árnadottir, 2002; Lim, 1985; Jay et al., 2007; Mcelwee et al., 2008; Partidário et al., 1994; Sánchez, 2008; Sander, 1997; Stender et al., 2003; Wathern, 1988). Some authors (Fitzpatrick and Sinclair, 2009; Lim, 1985; Sánchez, 1993a, 1993b) have presented international experiences regarding the legal regulation of environ- mental impact assessments. In Brazil, environmental impact assessment is linked to the environmental licensing process, both instruments having been instituted by Law 6938/1981 (which established the National Environmental Policy). But although this law and its follow-on regulations have been in force for more than 30 years, the overall process is still inefficient (Fowler and De Aguiar, 1993; Glassona and Nemesio Neves, 2000; Moreira and Avaliação, 1985). At present, the environmental licensing process as applied to ventures in the Brazilian power sector is the subject of heated public debate, with many uncertainties involved in the planning of future energy generation and transmission projects, and policy- makers face a range of difficult decisions. Sluijs et al. (2011) argued that the impact of erroneous decisions based on limited knowl- edge can be enormous. The reduction of uncertainties is thus important to reduce the chances of misguided decisions. Various authors agree about the difficulties encountered to approve environmental studies related to power transmission Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol Energy Policy 0301-4215/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.12.040 n Corresponding author. Home address: Rua Riachuelo, 92, bloco 4, apto 814, Lapa, Rio de Janeiro – RJ, CEP 20230014, Brazil. Tel.: þ55 21 81117572. E-mail addresses: ricofelixc@gmail.com (R.A.F. Cardoso Júnior), ale@ppe.ufrj.br (A. Magrini), dahora@vm.uff.br (A.F. da Hora). Energy Policy 67 (2014) 281–289