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The Salto Pilão Hydropower Plant Project consists of a run-of-river hydropower plant with a small reservoir of 0.15 square kilometers and an installed capacity of 191.88 MW. The plant is located between the cities of Lontras, Ibirama, and Apiúna in the state of Santa Catarina, South Region of Brazil. Salto Pilão hydropower plant (Portuguese: Usina Hidrelétrica Salto Pilão, UHESP) is owned by an association of several companies called Consórcio Empresarial Salto Pilão. The primary objective of the UHESP is to help meet Brazil’s rising demand for energy due to rapid economic growth and to improve the supply of electricity while contributing to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. UHESP provides jobs in the region and increases the share of renewable energy in Brazil's total electricity consumption. In the absence of the project, electricity would be generated by the operation of grid-connected power plants, including fossil fuel power plants and hydropower plants with large reservoirs. The implementation of UHESP, a low-impact run-of-river plant, ensures reneable energy generation, reduces the national electric system demand, avoids negative social and environmental impacts caused by the construction of large capacity hydropower plants with expansive reservoirs and fossil fuel-fired thermo power plants, and drives the regional economy, increasing quality of life in local communities.