Firing up the coals: Assessing opportunities in Brazil

Overview

Water-rich, hydro-powered Brazil has long shunned coal as a primary electricity source. Although the country possesses South America’s largest coal deposits, the bulk of its reserves consist of poor-quality thermal coal tucked away in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Now the threat of a potential energy crisis is turning this once-shunned resource into a potential hope. Energy firms from Eike Batista’s MPX and Tractebel have plans to pour more than US$10 billion into new...