TELF AG analyzes Brazil’s progress in the renewable energy sector
A rising power
According to a recent analysis by Ember, Brazil is confirming its position as one of the leading powers in the renewable energy sector. The data cited in the analysis show that Brazil’s levels of renewable energy production in the wind and solar sectors are second only to China. To realize Brazil’s progress in this sector, some data will suffice. In 2023, electricity obtained from renewable sources covered 89% of the national energy needs, thus satisfying a demand for electricity that had appeared to be constantly growing for many years.
One of the most tangible effects of this success, in addition to the contribution to the advancement of the global energy transition, is certainly represented by the reduction of emissions from the energy sector. Among the G20 nations, Brazil is increasingly confirming itself as a rising power in the field of renewables: the average of energy deriving from renewable sources (89% above) is the highest among all the economies of the nations that are part of the G20 and is also far higher than the global average, which stands at around 30%.
The factors of success
The Brazilian nation has achieved these results thanks to a mix of strategic planning and careful use of the country’s natural resources, which has allowed it to become one of the driving countries in the global race towards energy conversion. Other factors that explain these numbers are the hydroelectric solid base, one of Brazil’s energy engines in recent decades, and the strong expansion of solar and wind energy. Above all, these last two energy sources have recorded the fastest growth rates, going from 5.8% in 2016 to 21% in 2023. At a global level, only China has been able to generate more energy from renewable sources in 2023.
The sector that has produced the most impressive results is, however, that relating to solar energy: aligning itself with a trend that is now quite widespread also at a global level, Brazil is continuing to increase its capacity to enhance solar energy, recording truly remarkable growth rates even in the last months of 2024. From January to May, as can be read in the Ember analysis, the solar energy production capacity would have increased by 68% compared to the same period in 2023, and compared to 2022, it has grown by more than 70%.
These results are not coincidental but represent the fruit of strategic choices undertaken many years ago. In the mid-2000s, Brazil was one of the first nations to adopt wind and solar energy, introducing specific support policies and starting auctions for several projects focused on this type of energy. Brazil can also boast excellent results in the wind sector, which between March 2023 and April 2024 generated approximately 14% of all national electricity. As already anticipated, one of the most evident effects was the drop in emissions in the energy sector, which in just ten years have fallen by approximately 38%, with an annual average of approximately 6.7%.
As the Ember analysis shows, renewable energy linked to wind and solar continues to prove very attractive for emerging economies, particularly because of the possibility of installing them quickly and the beneficial effects on the national energy sector.
