Rural zones’ quest for energy in Brazil

In Brazil, 1 % of the population, i.e. 2 million people, is still without electricity. In 2003, the Government launched the “Luz Para Todos” electrification programme to guarantee access to electricity in the remote regions: Amazonia, the north-east, but also in the south, the hinter-lands of São Paulo, Rio or Belo Horizonte.

To meet this objective, the programme depends partly on solutions based on renewable energies, considered to be the most suitable to answer this challenge in remote regions. This is the case of the islands created by the Tucuruí dam, in Amazonia, where Omexom has installed mini power plants (solar and batteries), totalling an installed capacity of 1.8 MW, to provide the communities with power. The batteries allow part of the energy produced during the day to be stored for night-time use and also to guarantee 2 and a half days autonomy in case of a generation break-down.