Brazil goes green

Despite having vast oil reserves and only slowly emerging from recession, the country is focusing on growth in its energy sector and renewables are key to its strategy

Slowly emerging from the worst recession in its history, Brazil is now trying to lure investors back to its energy sector but not for hydrocarbon exploration. Instead, the country is focusing on the launch of greener energy projects. Last year Brazil added 9 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, according to the International Energy Agency—a 43% rise from 2015's level. This is an impressive feat considering Brazil's economic woes has led to the cancellation of renewable project auctions and power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the past year, putting the financing for such projects into doubt. The government awarded only 0.6 GW of new capacity from hydropower and bioenergy projects in 2016,