Picture / Info credit : ELETROBRAS / ITAIPU
Picture / Info credit : ELETROBRAS / ITAIPU
Get detailed info at: EIA – U.S. Energy Information Administration
Brazil largely relies on hydropower for electricity generation; in 2020, hydropower supplied 66% of its electricity demand. Wind and solar generation have grown quickly in recent years and had a combined 11% share of the country’s electricity generation in 2020. Biomass accounted for an 8% share. Fossil fuel-fired plants made up another 12% of electricity generation, while nuclear power accounted for 2%.
Most of Brazil’s hydropower capacity is located north in the Amazon River Basin, but electricity demand centers are mainly along the eastern coast, particularly in the south. National electricity reliability is challenged because of the country’s reliance on one resource (hydropower), the long distance between hydropower generation and demand centers, continued drought conditions, and deforestation.
Brazil aims to increase domestic natural gas production to help diversify its generation mix. Brazil has at least 34 natural gas-fired power plants with a total generating capacity of 11,026 megawatts (MW). Natural gas production has been growing as Brazil develops its vast offshore natural gas reserves, most of which are concentrated in the south off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil also imports natural gas by pipeline from Bolivia and as liquefied natural gas primarily from the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nigeria.
Brazil’s two nuclear reactors, Angra-1 and Angra-2, are located between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The units have a combined capacity of 1,884 MW, and they supplied 14.1 billion kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity to both cities in 2020. A third nuclear reactor, Angra-3, is currently under construction. It is expected to be completed between 2026 and 2027 and has a generating capacity of 1,340 MW.
Non-hydro renewables are the fastest-growing technologies in Brazil’s generation mix. With 4,600 miles of windy coastline, Brazil has abundant wind resources. Wind capacity in Brazil, which totaled 17,198 MW in 2020, is growing as new projects come online. One of these projects, Lagoa dos Ventos, began commercial operations in June 2021 and is the largest wind farm in South America. Although solar still represents a small share of the country’s generation mix, it more than doubled between 2018 and 2020, from 3.5 billion kWh to 6.7 billion kWh.
In the Brazilian government’s latest 10-year plan, it forecasts that renewable sources will account for most of the additions to installed power capacity expansion by 2030.The largest forecast addition will come from solar.
You can find additional information about Brazil’s energy sector in our Brazil Country Analysis Brief and in our International Energy Statistics.
ELETROBRAS- Largest hydroelectricity generation company in Latin America
Our installed capacity reached 50,503 MW in 2Q2021, which represents 29% of the total installed in Brazil. Of our total installed capacity, around 97% comes from clean sources, with low emission of greenhouse gases.
Among our 49 hydroelectric plants, 10 thermoelectric plants powered by natural gas, oil and coal, two thermonuclear plants, 43 wind plants and one solar plant, owned or in partnership, distributed throughout the national territory, are some of the largest projects in Brazil and in the world, in addition to structuring and pioneering projects in the country.
| Net Generation by Source (GWh) – 2Q2021 | Corporate | Partnerships (SPEs) | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solar | 0.52 | – | 0.52 |
| Natural gas | 3,080.64 | – | 3,080.64 |
| Wind | 372.62 | 607.87 | 980.49 |
| Uranium | 6,169.41 | – | 6,169.41 |
| Hydro | 61,892.45 | 26,177.45 | 88,069.90 |
| Coal | 1,164.50 | – | 1,164.50 |
| Oil | 0.43 | – | 0.43 |
|
TOTAL |
72,680.57 | 26,785.32 | 99,465.89 |
The data presented consider corporate ventures, stakes in SPEs, shared ownership and Itaipu Binacional.
The Brazilian part of Itaipu, Tucuruí, Paulo Afonso Complex, Xingó, Angra 1 and Angra 2, Serra da Mesa, Furnas, Itumbiara, Teles Pires, Belo Monte, Jirau, Sinop, Simplício-Anta, Santo Antônio, Pindaí I Wind Complexes, II, III, Casa Nova IA, II, III, Fortim and the Megawatt Solar plant are some of ELETROBRAS projects.
Enterprises that add approximately 2 GW to Eletrobras’ installed capacity between 2021 and 2030 are in the implementation stage, considering the implementation of the Angra 3 (Eletrobras Eletronuclear) and the Santa Cruz Thermal Power Plant (Eletrobras Furnas), as well as the expansion of the Curuá-Una HPP (Eletrobras Eletronorte) and the Cachoeira Branca CGH (Eletrobras Eletrosul).
We continue to seek and study opportunities to operate in new businesses from different generation sources, prioritizing clean energy and gas-fired thermal opportunities.
The inventory studies of the hydroelectric potential in the stretch of the Madeira River basin and its main tributaries located in Bolivian and Brazilian territory will also be held in a partnership with Bolivia’s National Electricity Company (Ende) and the Latin American Development Bank (CAF).
ELETROBRAS Privatization is maintained to 1st semester of 2022
The privatization process of Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S/A – Eletrobras was qualified in the Investment Partnerships Program (PPI) at the 3rd Meeting of the PPI Council, on August 23rd, 2017, through Resolution 13. It is the proposal of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) to the PPI Council, with the objective of reducing the Union’s participation in the capital of Eletrobras, with its consequent democratization in the Stock Exchange.
Eletrobras is the largest electricity company in Latin America (and the 16th largest company in the world), responsible for approximately 31% of generating capacity, 47% of transmission and 7% of electricity distribution in Brazil. Of course, it is an interesting project for investors. Similar cases of privatization, such as Embraer, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and Telefonia, denote the opportunity to the investor for this venture.
The proposal of privatization aims to give the company greater competitiveness and agility to manage its operations, without the ties imposed on the state. This move will allow Eletrobrás to implement the corporate governance requirements demanded by the “new market”, equating all shareholders – public and private – with total transparency in its management. Therewith, there will be new opportunities for the expansion of the quality of public infrastructure and the guarantee of the supply of electric energy in an efficient way and at the lowest price for the Brazilian society, making the flow of investments in the electric sector possible.
In this context, it is clear that the project has high priority in the governmental agenda. And, among the concrete challenges that justify the partnership between the public and private sectors for their realization, the following stands out: the need to stimulate technological development; to improve the governance of Eletrobras; of valuing and developing the capital market – a strategic element for the Brazilian economy.
The effectiveness of the privatization depends on governmental authorizations, evaluation of the necessary legal and regulatory authorizations, evaluation of the model to be adopted and compliance with the specific procedures – being a publicly-held mixed-capital corporation with shares listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3 – Brazil, Stock Exchange, Counter), New York (NYSE) and Madrid (Latibex).
Background – Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA (Eletrobras) is a mixed-capital company controlled by the Brazilian government, constituted by Law no. 3.890-A, dated April 25th, 1961. At that time, Eletrobras was granted the attribution of promoting studies, projects of construction and operation of generating plants, transmission lines and substations destined to the country’s electricity supply. The new company started to contribute decisively to the expansion of the electric energy supply and to the country’s development.
In the 1990s, Eletrobras lost some of its state functions and underwent changes in its profile. After this period, the company also began to act, by legal and transitional determination, in the distribution of electricity, through companies in the states of Alagoas, Piauí, Rondônia, Acre, Roraima and Amazonas.
Currently, the company controls:
a) 13 subsidiaries of generation, transmission and distribution of energy;
b) a research center (Eletrobras CEPEL);
c) a holding company (Eletrobras Eletropar);
d) half of the capital of Itaipu Binacional;
e) indirect shareholding in more than 170 Special Purpose Companies (SPE);
f) minority interests in 26 companies.
Please, check out other KEY ON-GOING BUSINESS CASES at Brazilian Air Force (FAB), Brazilian Navy and other opportunities for Latin America:
- BUSINESS CASE SGDC 1 & 2
- BUSINESS CASE FAB / AEB “ALCANTARA launching base”
- BUSINESS CASE FAB – CARPONIS-1 / HR Remote Sensing
- BUSINESS CASE SMART AGRICULTURE – NB-IoT
- BUSINESS CASE INPE REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE “AMAZONIA-1”
- BUSINESS CASE INPE REMOTE SENSE SATELLITE “CBERS”
BUSINESS CASE ELETROBRAS – HYDROELETRIC POWER - BUSINESS CASE VALE – ENERGY STORAGE
- BUSINESS CASE MB “UNMANNED AIRCRAFT”
- BUSINESS CASE SISFRON – BRAZILIAN TERRESTRIAL BORDER
- BUSINESS CASE “AMAZÔNIA AZUL”
- BUSINESS CASE BRAZILIAN NAVY NUCLEAR PROGRAM
- BUSINESS CASE AIRCRAFTS SAAB F-39E GRIPEN
- BUSINESS CASE MB “ANTI-SHIP MISSILE”
- BUSINESS CASE MB “TAMANDARÉ FRIGATES”
If your company is interested in opportunities such as those above, please let us know. MEREGE would be more than glad to act as your bridge into Brazil.
Unfolding relationships previously developed, MEREGE partners are able to quickly build a specific network that reaches the market the costumer needs.
MEREGE Legal & Regulatory team has a long and vast knowledge and experience, hence able to help your company to set the safest and the strongest path.
Always count on the widely respected experience and networking of MEREGE Consulting Partners to reach out to the right people at the right time.
