Power struggle: will Brazil’s booming datacentre industry leave ordinary people in the dark?

While millions live with regular blackouts and limited energy, plants are being built to satisfy the global demand for digital storage and processing - piling pressure on an already fragile system

Thirty-six hours by boat from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, Deodato Alves da Silva longs for enough electricity to keep his tucuma and cupuacu fruits fresh. These highly nutritious Amazonian superfoods are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and serve as a main source of income for farmers in Silva's area. However, the lack of electricity to refrigerate the fruit makes it hard to sell their produce.

Silva's fruit-growing operation is located in the village of Boa Frente, in Novo Aripuana municipality, one of Brazil's most energy-poor regions, where there is only one diesel-powered electricity generator working for a few hours a day.