Brazil is the second country with the most expensive energy tariffs in the world, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA) based on 2018 figures. (see more below).
For Roberto de Araujo, director of Instituto Ilumina – an NGO that discusses Brazil’s electricity sector – the country could reach the top of the rankings, if the current system is maintained. “You can’t understand why Brazil, which is a continental and all sunny country, has 2.5% of solar plants,” he criticizes.
One of the main reasons for this high energy tariff is the presence of thermal power plants – production by burn fuel fossils –, which have a high cost in construction and maintenance. According to the data of Aneel (the National Electric Energy Agency), there are 3,229 plants of this type in Brazil, which is 24.66%. Hydroelectric power plants, the production of power by rivers or dams, are the majority in the country, at 56.71%.
Dragou explains that thermal power plants act as “insurance” so that there is no shortage of energy in the country, because it does not depend, for example, on rain. However, in the opinion of the director of the Ilumina Institute, the government is not working to reduce this dependence and investment in photovoltaic (solar) or wind (production by kinetic wind) power plants. The latter represents 11.48% of Brazilian energy production.
coal production
The speech of the director of the Ilumina Institute about the state giving priority to thermal power plants is in line with the decisions of the President of the Republic. Jair Bolsonaro (PL) The Congress. Approved on the last day 5 The law that renews the policy to support coal production at the Jorge Lacerda Thermal Complex (CTJL), in Santa Catarina, and allows it to operate for another 15 years.
Despite the renewal, the new law created the PTJ (Policy for a Fair Transition), which focuses on clean energy and reducing pollutants. It is also establishing the Energy Transition (ETJ) program to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The new law also secures a government commitment to a contract to purchase backup power from the plant, setting sufficient fixed revenue to cover generation costs.
1st – Germany
Second – Brazil
3rd place – Italy
Fourth – Turkey
V – Singapore
Sixth – Indonesia
Seventh – Japan
Eighth – India
9 – United Kingdom
Tenth – South Africa
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