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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
How Brazil beats many richer nations in renewables
6/12/2023
8 min read
Feature
Brazil looks set to be a world-leading trailblazer in adopting renewable energy. Andreia Nogueira looks at how abundant natural resources, imported know-how and technology, combined with new regulation, have helped grow clean energy adoption by Latin America’s largest country.
Brazil generated 92.8% of its electricity from low or zero carbon sources during the first nine months of 2023. It produced more clean power by proportion of overall output among all G20 countries in 2022, with a share of 89.1%, according to global energy thinktank Ember. Brazil's renewables resources include solar, wind, hydro, bioenergy and nuclear, to which green hydrogen may be added in the future.
Ember notes: ‘Brazil is well-positioned to lead the way as the world moves towards 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2040.’ In July 2023, it generated a record 27% of electricity from wind and solar – 10 TWh from wind and 4 TWh from solar. But hydro remains the main source of electricity, accounting for 73% in 2022.
Ember data analyst Nicolas Fulghum says: ‘There’s been a real step-change in Brazil’s clean energy transition, with growth in wind and solar this year twice as fast as in 2022.’ Its year-on-year growth rate for wind and solar at 37% (as of July 2023) was above the global average.