The Brazilian market for I-RECs (International Renewable Energy Certificates) reached, in less than eight months, a volume greater than that recorded in the entire previous year. By August 20, 2026, 69,46 million certificates had been issued in the country, according to data from the Totum Institute.
The result already exceeds by 7,3% the 64,74 million I-RECs recorded throughout the entire year of 2025. Since 2020, when just over 4 million certificates were issued, the Brazilian market has accumulated growth exceeding 1.600%.
Each I-REC corresponds to 1 MWh of electricity generated from a renewable source. The international certificate allows for tracing the origin of the electricity and verifies, in an auditable way, that a certain volume of renewable energy was produced and associated with a company's consumption.
In practice, the mechanism is used by organizations that need to demonstrate compliance with decarbonization targets, reduce emissions accounted for in Scope 2, and meet their own environmental commitments or requirements from investors and supply chains.
According to the general director of the Totum Institute, Fernando Lopes, the expansion of I-RECs (Independent Energy Efficiency Certificates) accompanies a transformation in the corporate environment and the increase in requirements related to proving the origin of the energy consumed.
The issuance of I-RECs has increased every year since 2020. The most significant increase occurred between 2021 and 2022, when the volume more than doubled, rising from 9,21 million to 21,87 million certificates.
Growth is also favored by the expansion of renewable energy generation in Brazil. The increase in installed capacity of solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass power plants expands the potential for issuing these certificates.
At the same time, the growth of the free energy market allows more consumers to contract electricity from different suppliers and associate consumption with certified environmental attributes. In this environment, I-REC adds a layer of traceability to the contracting of renewable energy.
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