Renewable energy in Brazil

Renewable energy in Brazil accounted for more than 85.4% of the domestically produced electricity used in Brazil, according to data from the 2009 National Energy Balance, conducted by the Energy Research Corporation (EPE). After the oil shocks of the 1970s, Brazil started focusing on developing alternative sources of energy, mainly sugarcane ethanol. Its large sugarcane farms helped. In 1985, 91% of cars produced that year ran on sugarcane ethanol. The success of flexible-fuel vehicles, introduced in 2003, together with the mandatory E25 blend throughout the country, have allowed ethanol fuel consumption in the country to achieve a 50% market share of the gasoline-powered fleet by February 2008.

Brazil held its first wind-only energy auction in 2009, in a move to diversify its energy portfolio. Foreign companies scrambled to take part. In January 2015, a drought in Brazil that cut water to the country's hydroelectric dams prompted severe energy shortages. The crisis, which ravaged the country's economy and led to electricity rationing, underscored Brazil's pressing need to diversify away from water power. The bidding is expected to lead to the construction of two gigawatts of wind production with an investment of about US$6 billion over the next two years. Brazil counts on hydroelectricity for more than 3/4 of its electricity, but authorities are pushing biomass and wind as primary alternatives. Wind energy's greatest potential in Brazil is during the dry season, so it is considered a hedge against low rainfall and the geographical spread of existing hydro resources. Brazil's technical potential for wind energy is 143 gigawatts due to the country's blustery 7,400-km coastline, where most projects are based. The Brazilian Wind Energy Association and the government have set a goal of achieving 20 gigawatts of wind energy capacity by 2020 from the current 5 gigawatts (2014). The industry hopes the auction will help kick-start the wind-energy sector, which already accounts for 70% of the total in all of Latin America.

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