Brazil sets a record in renewable energy generation

Electricity generation from renewable sources reached the 92% mark in 2022.

The CCEE (Chamber of Commercialization of Electric Energy) released the result on February 1, 2023.

It shows that the participation of hydroelectric, wind, solar, and biomass plants in the total energy generated by the SIN (National Interconnected System) was the highest in the last 10 years.

Almost 62,000 average megawatts of energy were generated monthly in 2022.

According to the CCEE, the result was due, among other factors, to a more favorable climatic hydric scenario, which contributed to the recovery of water reservoirs and the expansion of wind and sun-powered plants.

In 2022, hydroelectric plants accounted for 73.6% of the total generated (45,613 MW average).

Wind power plants accounted for 14.6% (9,066 average MW).

The other sources, such as biomass, SHP (small power plants), solar, and CGH (hydroelectric generating plants), were responsible for 11.8% (7,291 average MW).

Regarding hydroelectric generation, the 2022 rain index contributed to a 17.1% increase in production from hydroelectric plants to 48,000 average MW.

“The reversal of the critical scenario of 2021 leaves the country in a much more comfortable situation for 2023. Today the installed capacity of this source is 116,332 MW,” the CCEE reported.

The centralized solar generation was the biggest highlight.

This type of source had the largest increase in generation in 2022, at 64.3% compared to 2021.

In all, more than 1,400 average MW were produced.

SOLAR FARMS

According to the CCEE, the arrival of 88 new solar farms to the SIN made the segment reach 4% of representativity in the national matrix.

The states of Rio Grande do Norte (178 average MW), Bahia (666 average MW), and Piauí (340 average MW) are the ones that presented an increase in wind generation.

Wind generation grew 12.6% year-on-year, supplying the electric grid with more than 9,000 average megawatts.

The country has 891 wind farms, which add up to more than 25,000 megawatts of installed capacity.

The production of energy from biomass, whose main raw material is sugar cane bagasse, registered a slight increase of 0.3%.

This source type delivered almost 3,000 average MW to the system in 2022.

There are 321 plants of this type, with a total installed capacity of 14,927 MW.

NON RENEWABLE

Regarding generation by non-renewable sources, the increase was 5,373 average MW.

Here is the growth ranking:

• gas thermal with 45.0% (2,419 average MW);
• nuclear with 28.3% (1,522 average MW);
• mineral coal with 12.8% (690 average MW);
• other sources (thermal, LNG, oil, gas/oil, import, and exothermic reaction) with 13.8% (743 average MW).

With information from Agência Brasil/Poder360