Blessed with abundant surface water resources and a considerable amount of associated hydroelectric power, Brazil has lots of renewable energy, and a lot of room to generate additional power from renewable sources like wind and solar.
Brazil is the world’s second largest hydro power consumer behind China, but a sharp contrast between wet and dry seasons – along with occasional droughts – has driven the country to import LNG in recent years to supplement its energy security. Keep reading →
Brazil is a country blessed by nature. Famous for its beaches, renowned for its beauties, the emerging global economic leader is also blessed by huge energy reserves, ranging from deep sea oil to huge rivers that drive hydroelectric production and some of the best wind resources in the world.
Countries have built wind energy as a complement to their existing power infrastructure, but in few places does the natural setting make wind so much “the perfect partner” for hydroelectric power as Brazil, the Global Wind Energy Council said in a report on regulatory frameworks for the country’s emerging wind industry. That is nature at work, with the wind cycle complementing Brazil’s rainy season by blowing strongest during the dry season. Keep reading →
Renewable energy resources, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), are poised to meet over half of EU’s electricity demand by 2030. In a statement released in mid-January 2012, Justin Wilkes, EWEA’s Director of Policy, said that the EU had already achieved the 21% target set in a 2001 directive for the end of 2010 by generating somewhere between 665-673 TWh from renewable resources, or 21% of total EU consumption of 3,115-3,175 TWh in 2010.
That is an impressive feat. But even more impressive is what Mr. Wilkes says can be achieved by 2020 and 2030 if EU merely stays the course. If renewable electricity production in the EU continues to grow at the same rate as it did from 2005 to 2010 it would reach 36.4% and an amazing 51.6% of electricity consumption within EU block by 2020 and 2030, respectively. Keep reading →
