MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latin-Americas' largest utilities company plans to invest US$ 17bn. in clean energy

Brazil boasts 84% of its power generation coming from renewable sources, as the country is the second-largest hydropower producer after the United States

Electrobras, Brazil's main electricity complex has plans to invest some US$ 17 billion in the next five years through mergers and acquisitions. The company said that investments in electricity generation would come in at around US$3.6 billion over the period as it moves to comply with its goal of a clean energy complex.

The company will also look at acquisition opportunities in low-carbon energy capacity and transmission, with the total number of deals eyed at up to 15. The expansion of the country’s transmission network is essential for the growth of its wind and solar capacity. The 'green' capacity is concentrated in the northeast of Brazil, and in order to carry the electricity to the south and southwest, the government needs more transmission lines.

During June it launched a tender for over 6,000 km of new transmission lines to that end and plans two more tenders for transmission capacity.

Brazil is already a large renewable energy producer thanks to its substantial hydropower resources. Thanks to these, Brazil boasts 84% of its power generation coming from renewable sources, as the country is the second-largest hydropower producer after the United States. Yet it also has ambitions in wind, solar, and hydrogen.

Eletrobras is the largest power utility in Latin America. The state-owned company was privatized a year ago by the Bolsonaro administration. The government issued new shares in the company and sold them, diluting its own stake in the company. The share sale generated US$ 6.3 billion.

When President Lula da Silva came into office, his government tried to challenge the privatization. The Supreme Court is expected to throw out the challenge. Lula has spoken against the privatization of Eletrobras previously, calling it “erratic” and an act of “almost banditry”.