Brazil’s Next Energy Challenge EP. 307 - Video Edition

This week on Energy Unplugged, Ana Barillas, Managing Director for Iberia and Latin America at Aurora Energy Research, and Rodrigo Borges, Market Lead for Brazil, are joined by João Brito Martins, CEO of EDP Brazil.

Brazil's energy transition has been one of the world's great success stories. Renewable capacity has expanded rapidly, solar deployment has surged, and the country has established itself as one of the largest and most dynamic power markets globally.

But success has brought a new set of challenges.

As curtailment rises, grid constraints intensify and investment in new renewable capacity slows; the conversation is shifting from how to build renewables to how to integrate them. At the same time, market liberalization is gathering pace; battery storage is preparing its first major auction, and policymakers face growing pressure to deliver the right signals for the next wave of investment.

João reflects on how Brazil's power sector has evolved, why networks are becoming increasingly important, and what must change to unlock the country's next investment cycle.

Brazil has shown it can deliver the energy transition at scale. The next challenge is creating a power system that can keep up.

Main topics include:

• Has Brazil become a victim of its own renewable success?

• Why curtailment, grid constraints and weak price signals are holding back investment

• Can market liberalization unlock a new era of customer-driven power procurement?
• What needs to happen for batteries and flexibility to scale in Brazil?