Brazil is looking to expand wind power substantially with its two top electricity sources—hydroelectric dams and fossil-fuel-powered thermoelectric plants—facing long-term environmental limitations. The government signaled its stepped-up expectations for wind power in its 2011-2020 Energy Expansion Plan (PDEE), which was issued this month by the Energy Research Enterprise (EPE), the research arm of Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry. The new forecast calls for installed wind-power capacity of 11,532 megawatts, or 6.7% of the 171,138 megawatts in total electricity-generating capacity that Brazil is expected to possess in 2020. That’s a large upgrade: last year’s edition of the annually updated 10-year energy plan pegged wind energy at only 3.6% of the country’s electricity supply by 2019. In absolute... [Log in to read more]