Energy in Brazil
[3][4][5] State-owned companies Petrobras and Eletrobras are the major players in Brazil's energy sector, as well as Latin America's.
[7] 2012R = CO2 calculation criteria changed, numbers updated The main characteristic of the Brazilian energy matrix is that it is much more renewable than that of the world.
[12] In 2021, Brazil's energy consumption comprised a mix of sources, with crude oil and other petroleum liquids making up 44.2%, followed by renewables (including hydro) at 37.5%, natural gas at 11.6%, coal at 5.5%, and nuclear at 1.3%.
Brazil's total energy production grew by an average annual rate of 1.5% from 2011 to 2021, primarily fueled by petroleum and other liquids.
Energy consumption in Brazil increased at a slower pace, with an average annual growth rate of 0.5% between 2011 and 2021, compared to 3.3% between 2000 and 2010.
In 1997, the Petroleum Investment Law was adopted,[14] establishing a legal and regulatory framework, and liberalizing oil production.
The New Gas Law, approved in 2020, aims to foster a more competitive market, facilitate third-party access to infrastructure, and attract private investment.
The vast majority of proven reserves were located in the Campos and Santos offshore basins off the southeast coast of Brazil.
The system consists of 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) of crude oil pipelines, coastal import terminals, and inland storage facilities.
[16] In 2022, Brazil ranked second in Central and South America for crude oil reserves, with approximately 13.24 billion barrels, behind Venezuela.
Brazil has developed the world's largest surface oil shale pyrolysis retort Petrosix, operated by Petrobras.
[19][20] As of January 2023, Brazil possesses natural gas reserves totaling approximately 13.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), placing it fourth among Central and South American nations.
In 2005, construction began on the Gas Unificação (Gasun pipeline) which will link Mato Grosso do Sul in southwest Brazil, to Maranhão in the northeast.
Petrobras is also constructing the Urucu-Manaus pipeline, which will link the Urucu gas reserves to power plants in the state of Amazonas.
Reserves of sub-bituminous coal are located mostly in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná.
The Poços de Caldas production centre in Minas Gerais state was shut down in 1997 and was replaced by a new plant at Lagoa Real in Bahia.
[5] The major power company is Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras (Eletrobrás), which together with its subsidiaries generates and transmits approximately 60% of Brazil's electric supply.
[16] An independent system operator (Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico [pt] - ((ONS)), responsible for the technical coordination of electricity dispatching and the management of transmission services, and a wholesale market were created in 1998.
[28] In total electricity generation, in 2019 Brazil reached 170,000 megawatts of installed capacity, more than 75% from renewable sources (the majority, hydroelectric plants).
[29][30] In 2013, the Southeast used about 50% of the load of the National Integrated System (SIN), being the main energy consuming region in the country.
São Paulo accounted for 40% of this capacity; Minas Gerais by about 25%; Rio de Janeiro by 13.3%; and Espírito Santo for the rest.
[32] Northern Brazil has large hydroelectric plants such as Belo Monte and Tucuruí, which produce much of the national energy.
Brazil's hydroelectric potential has not yet been fully explored, so the country still has the capacity to build several renewable energy plants in its territory.
[38] Brazil's gross wind resource potential was estimated, in 2019, to be about 522 GW (this, only onshore), enough energy to meet three times the country's current demand.
Brazil led Central and South America in nuclear electricity generation that year, producing 15 billion kWh.
Construction of Angra 3, Brazil's third nuclear power plant, is progressing, with an anticipated start of operations in 2028 with an installed capacity of approximately 1.4 GW.
[13] In 2020, Brazil reached an installed capacity of 15.2 gigawatts (GW) for energy production derived from solid biofuels and renewable waste.
