São Paulo Sets Ambitious Goal Of 70% Renewable Energy By 2020
July 29th, 2013 by James Ayre
São Paulo — the largest, richest, and most populous state in Brazil — has now set the relatively ambitious goal of receiving around 70% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by the year 2020.
Image Credit: São Paulo City via Flickr CC
The new energy plan — launched by the government of Sao Paulo — provides a clear path to the goal, road-mapping the future development and diversification of the state’s energy-mix. Based on the plan — the percentage of São Paulo’s electricity that comes from renewable energy sources will climb from where it is currently, at 55%, to 69% by 2020. Achieving the goal will square the state’s energy sourcing with its climate change policy.
“It’s an innovative plan that sets out our goals for increasing renewable energy,” stated São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin.
As per Renewable Energy World: Sao Paulo’s Energy secretary José Aníbal stated “that the state would be looking to further exploit the role of bioenergy via the production of sugar and alcohol. He said that between now and 2020 some US $12 billion in private sector investment would be pumped into the development of bioenergy, which would take its installed output from 4800 MW at the moment to 13,000 MW by 2020.”
The new energy plan also highlights the importance of further development and investment into photovoltaics and wind power.
On a more general level, Brazil as a whole has been moving towards greater and greater renewable energy adoption. The growth has been substantial — just a few months ago there was a week when the country’s regulators received applications for 392 megawatts (MW) worth of solar energy projects. That’s 392 MW of projects submitted for approval. In one week. Think about that. 
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About the Author
James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.
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