Emissions from the Brazilian electricity sector have a record low – 02/16/2024 – Environment

The expansion of renewable energy sources led the Brazilian electricity sector to record the lowest rate of CO emissions in 2023_² (carbon dioxide) since 2011, according to data compiled by MCTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation).

On average for the year, the electricity sector emitted 0.038 tons of CO_² per TWh (terawatt-hour generated), against 0.042 tons of CO_² per TWh in the previous year. In 2011, it was 0.028 and, since then, the indicator has exceeded one ton per TWh on three occasions of water crisis: 2014, 2015 and 2021.

The drop in the indicator reflects the favorable scenario for hydroelectric plants and the expansion of wind and solar generation, which reduced the need to activate thermal plants, which are more polluting and more expensive.

According to data from the ONS (National Electric System Operator), renewable solar, wind and hydroelectric energy were responsible for almost 90% of the average 75.6 thousand MW (megawatts) injected into the Brazilian electrical system in 2023.

Solar and wind sources broke generation records, with 15,900 average MW, growth of almost 50% compared to the previous year. With subsidies and great appeal to industrial consumers, both sources have experienced great growth in the country.

Its potential is highlighted by the government as one of the country’s differentiators in the race for investments in energy transition, one of the pillars of the new industrial policy announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

It is also used as a trump card by the government in debates on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as occurred at COP28, held in Dubai at the end of 2023.

“The world is already convinced of the potential of renewable energy,” said the president, in a speech. “It’s time to face the debate about the slow pace of decarbonization of the planet and work towards an economy less dependent on fossil fuels.”

The government’s energy department and Petrobras, however, defend the expansion of oil exploration in the country as a way of guaranteeing resources to finance the energy transition. In this sense, the state-owned company still hopes to open new borders on the equatorial margin and on the south coast.

The pace of expansion of renewable energy is expected to remain accelerated in the country in the coming years. According to Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency), there are currently 107 wind farms and 173 solar plants under construction in the country.

Another 515 wind farms and 2,837 solar plants have already received concessions, but have not yet started work — there is no guarantee, however, that they will all get off the ground.

“Brazil has one of the best solar resources on the planet”, said Ronaldo Koloszuk, president of the board of directors of Absolar (Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association), in a statement released this Friday (16), which celebrates the expansion of the sector .

This factor, he continues, “opens up a huge possibility for the production of the world’s cheapest green hydrogen (H2V) and the development of new synergistic technologies, such as energy storage and electric vehicles.”

On the other hand, there is great concern among environmental organizations and those linked to traditional communities in the Northeast region regarding the socio-environmental risks of this expansion, which today is already the focus of a series of conflicts.

In January, 29 entities launched a proposal for new rules for authorizations for the construction of wind and solar energy generation parks in the country, with the aim of discussing protection mechanisms against the impacts that these projects impose on territories and their inhabitants.

“Although they carry the clean energy label, the way large wind and solar plants and their
transmission lines being installed in the Brazilian Northeast is far from harmless”, says the document.