Brazil boosted clean electricity generation capacity by more than 35% from 2017 to 2022Solar power accounted for 6.8% of Brazil's electricity generation in 2023, up from about 4.2% in 2022, according to Ember.
But overall power generation in key European economies such as Germany remains well below peaks seen around 2018-19, as power generators face shortages of key power fuels such as natural gas in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In turn, restricted power output has kept energy costs elevated above long-term averages, which curbed consumption from energy-intensive industries and hobbled overall economic growth.
The fact that Brazil's power sector has managed to overcome those challenges to create a world-leading clean power sector may offer counterparts in other regions clues on how to maintain growth rates.
Brazil's new position as the cleanest major power sector may also help challenge assumptions that clean power expertise is concentrated in wealthier economies, and may widen the perspective of power sector developers who are trying to map out energy system expansion plans over coming years.
Persons:
Sao Jose da Barra, Paulo Whitaker, Ember, Gavin Maguire, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
REUTERS, HYDRO, National Electric Energy Agency, Reuters, Thomson
Locations:
Furnas, Sao Jose, Minas Gerais, Central Brazil, BRAZIL, LITTLETON , Colorado, Brazil, France, Argentina, America, Europe, Germany, Ukraine, Asia