Power/energy: The supereiectrification of Brazil: A huge hydroelectric complex under construction at Itaipu plus planned long-distance transmission lines signal the country's ambitions

How can a rapidly industrializing and urbanizing country that is nearly as big as the United States but lacks cheap, high-quality fossil fuels meet the ever-growing electricity needs of 120 million inhabitants? For Brazil, which fills this description, there was one obvious answer: by turning to its vast hydroelectric resources.