Brazil’s wind energy sector powers ahead

Wind power development in Brazil, South America’s largest and most populated nation, has been much in the news recently with a report that more than 88% of the country’s electricity came from renewables last year.

The preliminary report from Brazil’s Energy Research Company has revealed that wind power increased more than any other renewable power source, responsible for a 24% increase between 2010 and 2011.

The report also showed that wind power produced about 2,700 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in 2011.

According to cleantechnica.com, a US website that specializes in clean energy, the increase in wind power was expected.

“It became clear near the middle of 2011 that wind power was the cheapest form of new electricity available, even cheaper than natural gas, and a lot of money was going into wind power projects in the country,” an article on the website said.

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has reported that the Brazilian wind sector installed 583 MW in 2011, bringing total installed capacity up to 1,509 MW, an increase of 63% in installed capacity, and a 56% increase in terms of annual market growth.

GWEC also noted that Brazil reached the 1 GW milestone in June 2011 and has more than 7,000 MW in the pipeline to be completed by 2016.

“Brazil is one of the most promising onshore markets for wind energy, for at least the next five years,” GWEC said.

“The country’s support framework and the sector’s experience have been adapted to meet local conditions. This puts Brazil in an excellent position to be the regional leader in wind energy generation and development.”

According to a recent article on the RenewableEnergyWorld.com website, total investment in Brazil’s wind power sector totaled €2.3 billion in 2011.

 

Chris Rose, www.ewea.org