EN 
PT_BR 
The Mais Luz para a Amazônia Program should be responsible for bringing access to electricity to around 350 thousand people located in the Legal Amazon region, through a technical cooperation agreement signed between the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) and the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development).
The signing of the pact between the institutions aims to raise financial resources for the execution of the project, which is budgeted at R$ 3 million.
According to minister Bento Albuquerque, the implementation of electrical energy can provide space for other projects. “It is also possible that, later on, other public policies will contemplate the communities benefiting from Mais Luz, taking into account the basic premise of the need for electrical energy and taking into account social and economic development and the need for environmental preservation”, stated Albuquerque .
Furthermore, the partnership between the institutions aims to qualify the Mais Luz para a Amazônia Program as a beneficiary of resources from the GCF (Green Climate Fund), or even other international funding sources.
According to Rodrigo Santana, director of the Department of Social Policies and Universal Access to Electricity at the MME, the initiative already has R$ 1.1 billion approved for 2021 by the CDE (Energy Development Account), which should cover 90% of the Program.
Santana also states that the terms of execution of the project are already in the process of being finalized and works should begin in November.
Gustavo Montezano, president of BNDES, emphasized the importance of other agents also investing in the region. “We will act with a sense of purpose and collaboration, thinking about the good of the people and Brazil. It is an agenda that has taken on very strong relevance at the Bank and that will guide us in the coming years”, he concluded.
Solar energy in the Amazon
Just at the beginning of this month, the MME and Equatorial Pará signed a commitment, to bring, through the Mais Luz para Amazônia Program, generation systems that use renewable energy, especially solar photovoltaic.
The agreement provides for the preservation of the Amazon Forest, considering that solar energy is a sustainable and clean source, with reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
The Renascer Extractive Reserve should be the first location covered by the program. The forecast is that by the end of this year, 205 families will be served.
