Brazil hosted a forum on clean and renewable energy at the Expo Center this afternoon, gathering experts and officials in the field to explore the country's energy policies and planning as well as business opportunities.
Marcio Pereira Zimmermann, Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy, talked about Brazil's practices in using clean and renewable energy, Brazil's regulation in energy use, evolution of Brazilian energy sources, energy planning, power generation expansion and transmission system, new technologies, energy efficiency, nuclear energy and energy security, at the forum entitled "The Energy that Moves Brazilian Cities."
Brazil has some of the cleanest and most renewable sources of energy in the world, he noted. As a whole, the country's renewable energy levels reach 47 percent, compared with the world average of 14 percent.
Other speakers focused on "light for all program," "technologies for the sustainable development of the Brazilian power sector," "energy saving - accumulating natural resources for the next generations," "biofuel: investments and partnerships," "policies and practices of mining in Brazil with focus on urban areas," "energy and cities," "Vale's sustainability initiatives," "bus rapid transport" and "international cooperation in the field of fuels."
They shared views on a government program that aims to use energy as a stimulus of social and economic development in communities lacking access to energy, important features of the national interconnected transmission system and hydroelectric generation in Brazil, the country's National Program for Energy Conservation and biofuels industry, its sustainable development of mining industry, among others.
The search for renewable energy that is less harmful to human health and the environment turned ethanol into a promising wager for the country. Brazil is the largest exporter of this type of fuel. Because of increased demand, the volume of exported ethanol grew to 4.7 billion liters in 2008 and 2009 from 516 million liters in 2001 and 2002.
