Brazil Reports Lowest Power Sector Emissions Since 2012

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Written by Amir Richani for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Brazil continues to lead the way in renewable power generation, closing 2023 with one of its cleanest years in recent times.

The Brazilian energy ministry highlighted that throughout 2023, the country generated 38.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per megawatt-hour (MWh) produced in its National Interconnected System (SIN). This is the lowest going back to 2012, according to the government.

The Brazilian electricity sector comprises the SIN and off-grid systems in remote cities and states. The SIN is dominated by hydropower capacity, yet this has not stopped Brazil from developing new wind and solar power generation in its effort to expand its renewable matrix.

Currently, Brazil has an electricity generation capacity of almost 200 gigawatts (GW), with hydroelectric plants representing 51.73% of the total, followed by thermoelectric plants with 23.18%, and wind power generation accounting for 14.65%.

Last year, the country finished the construction of 10.3 GW of new power generation capacity, of which 47.7% were wind projects and 38.9% were solar plants.

In 2023, about 70% of the electricity generated by the SIN came from hydroelectric plants, accounting for 561,583 gigawatt-hours between January and November, while wind energy represented 15%.

More importantly, the South American nation is aiming to connect off-grid cities and areas to the SIN with the objective of promoting energy efficiency and utilizing renewable established capacity. Many of these off-grid systems run on thermoelectric plants, impacting Brazil's overall emission generation. This is why Brazil is expanding its transmission networks across the country.

As an example of that, last year, cities such as Parintins and Itacoatira in the Amazon state and Juruti in the Para province were connected to the SIN through the expansion of transmission lines.

Moreover, as part of Novo Pac, the major infrastructure investment plan launched by the government last year, Brazil expects the construction of 28,000 kilometers of transmission lines between 2023 and 2026. This will represent an increase of 15% of the existing capacity, and it will cost about 87.8 billion reals (US$17.6 billion).

Meanwhile, Novo Pac also projects the construction of 343 new electric plants, from which solar and wind power will represent 92% of the total, amounting to 75.7 billion reals (US$15.2 billion) in investments.

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