Brazil Energy Situation

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Brazil

Capital:

Brasília

Region:

Coordinates:

15.7833° S, 47.8667° W

Total Area (km²): It includes a country's total area, including areas under inland bodies of water and some coastal waterways.

8,515,770

Population: It is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin.

216,422,446 (2023)

Rural Population (% of total population): It refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.

12 (2023)

GDP (current US$): It is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

2,173,665,655,937 (2023)

GDP Per Capita (current US$): It is gross domestic product divided by midyear population

10,043.62 (2023)

Access to Electricity (% of population): It is the percentage of population with access to electricity.

100.00 (2022)

Energy Imports Net (% of energy use): It is estimated as energy use less production, both measured in oil equivalents. A negative value indicates that the country is a net exporter. Energy use refers to use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, which is equal to indigenous production plus imports and stock changes, minus exports and fuels supplied to ships and aircraft engaged in international transport.

11.87 (2014)

Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption (% of total): It comprises coal, oil, petroleum, and natural gas products.

59.11 (2014)

Source: World Bank

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Energy Situation

Renewable Energy

Brazil is known worldwide for its ample share of renewable sources in its energy production.  According to the Brazilian energy balance, 32.9% of the domestic energy supply in 2015 was from renewable sources, such as hydropower, sugar cane products and wind (EPE, 2016). If we consider only the electricity supply, the numbers are even more positive. Renewable sources represent 75.51% of the total, of which 64% are hydro; 8%, biomass; 3.5% wind and 0.01%, solar. 

Energy auctions are one of the main instruments adopted by Brazilian federal government to ensure that the pre-defined quality standards are met by the energy services along with lowest prices.  Exclusive auctions, as wind or solar, have been an important mechanism to increase the participation of some sources in the national energy mix.

In 2009 was realized the first exclusive wind power auction. Since then, a total of 430 wind parks (10.74 GW) had been installed by the end of 2016. The first solar power auction was realized in 2014 and another two in 2015. Together, they commissioned 94 plants (3,049 GW).  Two new auctions are planned in December 2017 and another in April 2018, all including wind and solar PV as possible energy sources.  

Brazil has suffered from serious rain pattern changes, which brought reservoir levels to very critical numbers over the last years. In 2012, the hydropower reservoirs had fallen to their lowest volume in 10 years. This resulted in the activation of many thermal power plants which had cost over R$ 8.6 billion to Brazilian consumers that year and, consequently, an increase in the participation of fossil fuels in the Brazilian Electricity mix.  (PASSOS, SCHEIDT. 2013)

In 2016, an increase of the volume of rain compared to previous years allowed a growth in the hydropower generation, which resulted in a decrease of 28% in the participation of fossil-fuel power plants in the energy production. Besides, the generation from renewable sources other than hydropower increased by 19%, mainly wind and biomass. The consequence was a reduction of 30% of greenhouse gas emissions from the electric sector. (OBSERVATÓRIO DO CLIMA, 2017)  

The latest 10-Year Energy Expansion Plan (PDE) estimates an average growth in the Domestic Energy Supply of 2% per year. From this total, the government expects a 48% share of renewable energy in 2026.  (EPE, 2017)

Sources:

EPE. Balanço Energético Nacional. 2016. https://ben.epe.gov.br/downloads/Relatorio_Final_BEN_2016.pdf

EPE. PDE 2026 traz inovações importantes na análise, modelagem e divulgação de resultados da expansão da produção de energia no país. 2017 Decenal de Energia – PDE/AbertaaconsultapúblicadoPDE2026atéodia6deagostode2017.aspx?CategoriaID=345 http://epe.gov.br/Estudos/Paginas/Plano Decenal de Energia – PDE/AbertaaconsultapúblicadoPDE2026atéodia6deagostode2017.aspx?CategoriaID=345

OBSERVATÓRIO DO CLIMA. Emissões do Brasil sobem 9% em 2016. 2017 http://www.observatoriodoclima.eco.br/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/seeg2017presskit_FINAL.pdf

PASSOS, Mauro; SCHEIDT, Paula. “O clima em transformação e opções energéticas inovadoras para o Brasil”. Agência CanalEnergia. Rio de Janeiro, 25 de janeiro de 2013. http://www.provedor.nuca.ie.ufrj.br/eletrobras/estudos/passos3.pdf

Solar Energy in Brazil

The solar energy in Brazil has been growing by leaps and bounds . There are several economic benefits and environmental that are helping to drive the growth of this renewable energy resource.
Known initiatives for promoting the use of solar energy in Brazil:

• The Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy - ABSOLAR was established in January 2013 and aims to promote the market, breaking down the barriers of the solar industry in Brazil and defend the interest of this industry.
• The Solcial is the first social program of solar energy in Brazil that gives access to all this renewable energy source.
• Minas Gerais is the first Brazilian state to give ICMS tax exemption for solar energy.
• The Ideal Institute was created with the aim of promoting and disseminating the use of solar energy in Brazil.
• It is possible to buy solar energy with "Construcard" Cash, a specific form of financing from the government.
• The Brazilian National Development Bank - BNDES provides financing for photovoltaic plants to bring technology to Brazil and create jobs.
• Atlas Solarimético Brazileiro: Map of the solar resource throughout the national territory.
• In 2013 there was the public call for R&D which enabled the Construction Builder of several mini solar power plants in Brazil
• The first auction of solar energy in Brazil took place in 2014 and was a success hiring 1,000MW average apx.

Solar potential in Brazil

Institutional Set up in the Energy Sector

Associations

Main renewable energy associations in Brazil:

• Biogas: ABiogas and ABBM
• Solar: ABSOLAR and ABENS
• Windcraft: ABEEOLICA
• Brazilian renewable energy cooperative: COOBER

Reseach & Development

The major research centers and laboratories in Brazil are:

• Centro Integrado de Pesquisa em Energia Solar da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Fotovoltaica-UFSC)
• Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Elétrica (Eletrobras Cepel)
• Centro de Referência para Energia Solar e Eólica Sérgio de Salvo Brito (Cresesb)
• Grupo de Eletrônica de Potência e Controle da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)
• Grupo de Estudos e Desenvolvimento de Alternativas Energéticas da Universidade Federal do Pará (GEDAE/UFPA)
• Laboratório de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos da Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
• Laboratório de Energia Solar da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Further Information

• The América do Sol Program, an initiative of the Institute for the Development of Alternative Energies in Latin America (IDEAL), provides information through educational materials and promotional events, since 2010. Among the tools there is the first Solar Simulator; the Solar Label; and the Solar Fund as well as the first Map of Solar PV providers (Mapa de Empresas do Setor FV). The program provides complete Information about costs&advantages in Brazil and publishes annual reports about the Brazilian distributed Solar PV market supported by the Brazilian regulatory Agency ANEEL.
  
• Energia Solar no Brasil (portuguese) The Portal Solar works to spread and enable photovoltaic solar energy in Brazil. They do this by helping consumers to understand everything they need to know in order to find the best solar PV solutions on the market. It also provides a complete and updated list of solar energy courses in Brazil (Cursos de Energia Solar); a map of Solar Energy Companies Mapa de Empresas de Energia Solar;
  
• The Solar Company "Blue Sol Energia Solar" has a blog to disseminate all kinds of information about photovoltaic market in Brasil with the purpose to educate consumers about solar technology and the brazilian's photovoltaic market. E.g. Tax Exemptions of Solar Energy in Brazil Infográfico dos estados com Isenção de ICMS e outros Impostos no Brasil para a Geração de Energia Solar; Advantages of Residential Solar Energy Benefícios da Energia Solar Residencial; Solar Calculator and other.

Clipping (notícias)

2017: JANEIRO Capacidade elétrica atinge 149 mil Megawatts em novembro: site MME, 2/jan.