A Growing Demand for Energy

There is an old joke that says Brazil is the country of the future – and always will be. But with rapid economic growth, the government claiming that some 40 million people have been lifted out of poverty in the past decade and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on the horizon, it seems the joke is about to fall flat. Brazil's time has arrived and the country of sun, sea and samba is keen to showcase itself to the world as a positive example of how to exploit renewable energy sources as well as how to perform on the football pitch.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, up to 77 percent of the world's energy needs could potentially be supplied from renewable sources by 2050, despite the current figure being a much more modest 13 percent.

Many heads of government around the world wondering how they can play their part in such a dramatic transformation could be forgiven for looking enviously at Brazil, where the figure already stood at 44.8 percent in 2010 and is forecast to rise to 46.3 percent in 2020.

While this increase may seem small in percentage terms, it fails to take into account the huge growth that will be seen in the country's raw energy demands — and the fact that the next decade could see the foundations laid for renewable energy to quickly become even more dominant in the years that follow.

A Growing Demand for Energy

In the next decade demand for energy is expected to increase by around 60 percent in Brazil, fuelled by millions of people spending more on consumer goods for their homes and cars, economic growth continuing to outstrip that seen in developed nations and heavy spending to improve infrastructure ahead of the two greatest sporting shows on earth.

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