IN BRAZIL, WIND AND HYDRO ARE SWEET

Brazil is famous in the energy sector for its sugar ethanol production but it keeps turning up in stories about developing a lot of other kinds of resources. Turns out Brazil gets 80% of its electricity from hydro, is one of the world’s leading offshore oil developers and now Portugal’s EDP sees opportunity in wind development. Sugar ethanol may be a better liquid fuel than corn ethanol but even Brazil isn’t betting the farm on it. Only the Bush administration and U.S. agribusiness are doing that.


In Brazil, New Energy means sugar ethanol. (click to enlarge)

Brazil to Attract 10 Billion Reais for Wind Power, Estado Says
Joao Lima, March 17, 2008 (Bloomberg News)
and
EDP to Buy Wind Farms, Small Dams to Expand in Brazil
Carolina Matos and Joao Matos, February 26, 2008 (Bloomberg)

WHO
Brazil (Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, President); Ceara Development Agency (Antonio Balhmann, President); EDP-Energias de Portugal SA; EDP’s Energias do Brasil unit (Antonio Pita de Abreu, head)

Brazil's hydro capacity is enormous - unless climate change brings drought. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
- Brazil’s wind energy potential will draw a 10 billion reais ($5.8 billion) investment from unspecified sources according to a Sao Paulo newspaper report.
- EDP, via its Enernova division, will invest an unspecified amount in wind installations, hydro electric dams and biomass units.

WHEN
- New wind developments are scheduled to be built in 2008 and 2009.
- EDP’s investments are part of a 4-year New Energy development program. It is aiming to own 1000 megawatts of New Energy in South America by 2012.

Map to identify states mentioned in the text. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
- New wind developments are planned for the Ceara (#6) and Rio Grande do Norte (#19) regions. Northeastern Brazil will also reportedly get a turbine factory and two turbine tower manufacturing plants.
- EDP, Portugal’s biggest utility, is based in Lisbon.
- Enernova will acquire wind-power companies in the southernmost states, small dams in the Espirito Santo (#7) and Sao Paulo (#24) states and biomass- electricity generators in the states of Mato Grosso (#10), Mato Grosso do Sul (#11) and Sao Paulo (#24).


WHY
- EDP’s investments can be used to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Its 2007 purchase of Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs made it the world’s 4th biggest wind energy operator.
- Brazil biomass potential is mainly from sugar-cane industry bagasse (waste stalks of the cane plant after the juice for sugar or ethanol is squeezed out).
- EDP regards Brazil’sbest wind enrgy potential to be in northeast.
- Enernova’s 25 small hydroelectric plants will have a 538 megawatt capacity. Hydroelectric accounts for 80% of Brazil's electricity.

Wind and biomass are about to expand. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
Antonio Pita de Abreu, head, EDP's Energias do Brasil unit: ``We have a handful of options and we are moving forward with our plan…There is potential for growth and we know where we can grow rapidly.''