Industry sources, such as ethanol, biomass and biogas, are responsible for 60% of the renewable energy produced in the country, which also includes hydroelectric, wind and solar power.
The participation of agri-food in the Brazilian energy matrix it already represents almost a third of the total energy offered in the country. According to a study by the Bioeconomics Observatory of Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV)published in May based on the National Energy Balance (BEN), resources from agricultural activities were responsible for 29.1% of the energy used in Brazil in 2023. The main sources include biomass from sugar caneTHE ethanol and the biodiesel.
If we consider only the renewable portion of the matrix – energy generated from natural resources that are continuously regenerated – the percentage of agricultural participation rises to 60%. The remaining 40% consists of hydroelectric energy sources (24.02%), wind (5.24%), solar (3.46%), firewood from natural vegetation (6.98%) and biogas from non-agricultural waste such as household waste (0.22%).
This prominence of agriculture has been driven by initiatives that expand and diversify generation sources. In Fortaleza, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Society (Embrapa) and the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) has created a system to transform fruit and vegetables that would otherwise be discarded into biogas.
In Santiago (RS), the first ethanol plant of the grain of the country, with the capacity to process one hundred tons of cereals per day and produce up to 12 million liters of hydrous ethanol per year.
The country’s first grain ethanol plant can produce up to 40,000 liters per day
2 Corn ethanol is growing by 20% per year, making Brazil the world’s second largest producer
3 https://www.estadao.com.br/economia/agronegocios/quem-sao-os-brasileiros-que-impulsionam-a-producao-agricola-no-pais-veja-depoimentos/
What is already in operation is the system developed by Embrapa and the Federal University of Ceará, which transforms fruit and vegetables not suitable for consumption into biogas. Tested for five years in collaboration with Ceasa de Fortaleza, which discards 17 to 25 tons of food per day, the model uses anaerobic reactors and generates 40 to 60 liters of biogas per kilo of raw material, according to researcher Renato Leitão.
Still in the experimental phase, it could be extended to the 57 supply centers and packing centers in the country, thus helping to combat waste, which according to data represents 42% of Brazilian production. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Source: Terra
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