Brazil Energy Dashboard

Grid Summary

Approximately twenty million Brazilians living in remote communities do not have access to reliable electrical power. While the majority of these underserved reside in Brazil’s Northeast, the remainder dwell all over the country -- even in the well-developed states of the South and Southeast regions. These communities rely on small diesel generators to supply power for basic public services like water pumping, communications, lighting for schools, and vaccine storage for health clinics, as well as for small businesses. The Government of Brazil considers universal access to safe, affordable energy a central component in its fight against inequality and rural poverty. Brazil’s untapped potential to employ renewable energy resources such as biomass, solar (photovoltaic and thermal), small hydro and wind for electricity generation is tremendous. Recent economic analyses indicate that these indigenous energy sources can provide cost-effective and environmentally-sound alternatives to fossil fuel-based generation. With a potential $25 billion renewable energy market, business opportunities are limitless. However, government resources alone cannot meet the demand for off-grid energy, and those resources that are currently available support highly-subsidized programs...more information.

The Government of Brazil has been attaching great importance to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The national authorities have produced three National Monitoring Reports (2004, 2005 and 2007), based on detailed official data. In addition to the measurement of indicators, these Reports also include a presentation of the most relevant public policies and analysis on the prospect of achievement. During the past decade, the results show significant improvement in most indicators and clearly show that Brazil has already accomplished some targets and is close to achieving others. However, important challenges still remain primarily due to the great levels of inequality and disparity in Brazilian society and among geographic regions. Income inequality has been decreasing since 2001 and reached its lowest level in 2005. On MDG 1 (eradicate extreme poverty and hunger), Brazil has already fulfilled its commitment to this Goal. For MDG 2 (achieve universal primary education), significant improvements have been registered in access to education, resulting in nearly universal coverage for elementary school. But the quality of basic education still lacks, since a large number of children finish grade 4 without adequate reading and writing skills...more information.