EN 
PT_BR 
The Covid-19 pandemic directly impacted all economic sectors in Brazil and the world. However, the market that proved to be resilient during this period was renewable energy, which despite the adverse situation broke some records.
Looking back at this year, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, issued a statement and highlighted some important milestones that the sector has reached. Among them is the record for wind generation, which reached 12,229 MW in October.
Furthermore, the minister highlighted photovoltaic solar generation. “This renewable source reached, for example, 2,073 MW in April, enough energy to supply 5 million people,” he added.
“Two thousand and twenty was challenging. We were faced with a pandemic that imposed the need to prioritize the health of our employees, collaborators and partners, and, even so, maintain essential services for the country”, said Albuquerque.
Other industry milestones
During the statement, the minister also highlighted other important milestones achieved by the Mines and Energy sector in 2020:
- New productivity record for the Itaipu hydroelectric plant: 1.0881 average MW produced per cubic meter of water per second;
- The Angra 2 nuclear plant reached a historic milestone, completing a 13-month power generation cycle continuously, with a capacity factor of 99.43%;
- In the oil area, there were records for exports (1 million barrels per day in April) and production (2.8 million barrels per day in August);
- In the mineral sector, a 45.5% share of the trade balance was reached, reaching 20.5 billion dollars.
“May we also continue to count on the trust and support of all segments of Mines and Energy. And may we be able to meet the desires that society desires and deserves so much”, he concluded.
Brazil reaches historic milestone of 7 GW
Brazil reached a historic milestone in November. According to a survey carried out by ABSOLAR (Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association), the country registered 7 GW of operational power from the solar source, in large plants and small and medium-sized systems installed on roofs, facades and grounds.
“Photovoltaic energy is growing rapidly because it reduces household, commercial, service and industrial expenses. We reached 7 GW, half of the Itaipu hydroelectric plant”, commented Ronaldo Koloszuk, president of the Board of Directors of ABSOLAR.
