Brazil connected 20 new power facilities in August, adding 1.68 GW of solar, wind and thermal capacity even as its oil and gas output keeps expanding. Foreign lenders including the World Bank and China's State Grid are financing the build-out, and business leaders are pressing both presidential frontrunners to commit to a green growth agenda ahead of October's vote.
Brazil connected 20 new power facilities to its grid in August, adding 1.68 GW of solar, wind and thermal capacity according to the Brazilian power sector watchdog Aneel. The addition brings Brazil's 2026 renewable build-out to 4.85 GW so far this year, even as the South American country keeps expanding its oil and gas production to strengthen energy security.
Installed capacity nears 221 GW
Fifteen solar plants, three thermal plants and two wind parks came online in August alone, pushing total installed generation capacity to 221 GW, almost 85% of which is renewable. Solar accounted for 3.5 GW of the capacity added this year.
By 2025, around 50% of Brazil's energy mix already came from renewables such as solar, wind and bioenergy. Separately, the country's energy-related emissions made up less than 20% of its total greenhouse gas output in 2023, against a global average of around 75%.
Foreign capital backs the build-out
Outside lenders are financing the expansion. In May, the World Bank approved a $500 million loan as part of a broader $968 million financing package to develop renewable resources in Brazil's Northeast region.
The New Development Bank provided financing for a large-scale wind project in Paraíba. CTG, the Brazilian arm of China Three Gorges Corporation, separately completed the 648-MW Serra da Palmeira Wind Complex in the same state in October 2025. China's State Grid Corporation also broke ground on a 1,468-km ultra-high-voltage transmission line, calling it the largest investment yet in an electricity transmission franchise project in Brazil's history.
Election adds pressure on energy policy
With President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro headed toward an October vote, the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development, which represents 11 of the country's largest business groups, wrote to both candidates urging a clearer green growth strategy.
Marina Grossi, CEBDS president and special envoy for the business sector to 2025's COP30, said: "we are trying to propose a project for the country". Bolsonaro backs oil and gas expansion and larger energy subsidies, while Lula in December ordered ministries to draft an energy transition resolution within 60 days, aimed at cutting the country's reliance on oil, coal and natural gas.
Lula has also vowed to shield Brazil's oil and critical mineral resources from foreign control.
Source: Oilprice.com
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