Oil In Brazil Harnesses Solar And Wind

European oil majors are viewing the lands around the world, seeking more than just deepwater oil geysers in Brazil. They also intend to benefit in dollars from the country’s abundant wind and sunshine.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Equinor ASA have all promised in recent weeks to invest in Brazilian renewables. The push could more than double wind and solar’s portion of Brazil’s energy mix to 18 percent by 2026, according to the EPE, Brazil’s energy research office.

The diversification into clean energy comes as European investors express anxiety that oil companies will shrink as the world shifts away from fossil fuels to combat climate change. Brazil’s unique geology has already presented it an oil exporter as well as the region’s largest producer of wind power. And while the sun only contributes a fraction of its electricity now, Brazil averages 4.25 to 6.5 solar hours a day, among the largest levels worldwide.

Producers Of Solar, Be Prepared

Generators need to start preparing for the transition to a low carbon economy even though it will be gradual, Bassam Fattouh, director of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, stated in an interview on Sept. 3.

“In an environment of uncertainty like this, you must to start adjusting your portfolio to hedge yourself,” he responded.

“The transition to a low-carbon era has begun,” declared Decio Oddone, the head of Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, known as ANP. “Brazil requires to explore its oil and gas resources right now, or we will leave the oil in the ground.”

Word From An Oil Dude

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, also acknowledged as Petrobras, is already partners with Paris-based Total at some of the country’s most significant offshore fields. The companies approved a memo of understanding in July to explore wind and solar projects. Total’s Brazilian unit recently proclaimed the commissioning of its first Brazilian solar plant in Bahia state, with a capacity for 25 megawatts from almost 78,000 panels.

The firm has also launched two other solar projects with the aim to generate 140 megawatts.

Petrobras is also in talks with Equinor to replicate the wind power units it has in its headquarters waters off the coast of Norway. At a press briefing in August, company executives said the best oil prospects it has ever had are the five Brazilian projects it’s planning to drill in the next two years. They also declared an interest in Brazil’s renewables.

“We aim to expand further, also in our solar business,” Anders Opedal, the company’s executive vice president in Brazil, announced at the ONS Conference in Stavanger, Norway. “In our solar business, and we’re looking into possibilities for offshore wind.”

Shell, which acquired the U.K.’s seventh-largest power provider last year, has brought in a team of 10 people to evaluate Brazilian clean energy projects, Andre Araujo, Shell’s top administrator in Brazil, told reporters last month. The company is considering wind projects that Brazil’s state-controlled utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA has put up for sale, he declared.

“The speed of the transition will depend on how fast these projects become profitable,” Araujo stated.

As you can see, the world is ever-increasingly going solar.  The cost of solar keeps falling, making it a great way to make sustainable, renewable energy for years to come.  Do your part, and contact HahaSmart today to jump headfirst into the solar revolution.

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