<\/p>
The accelerated growth of Brazil\u2019s energy sector\u2014driven primarily by renewable sources\u2014has exposed structural limitations that call into question the country\u2019s ability to sustain foreign capital inflows over the long term. Although Brazil posts strong figures\u2014with more than US$84 billion in foreign direct investment in the sector and installed capacity exceeding 200 GW\u2014experts point out that the mismatch between generation growth and the capacity for planning and energy transmission has created significant bottlenecks, particularly in transmission and system coordination.<\/p>
According to Roberta Demange, partner at Pinheiro Neto Advogados, international investors seek not only a high volume of opportunities, but also predictability. \u201cIt is not just about attracting capital, but also about ensuring legal certainty; more than volume, what matters is the structure and framework in which that investment takes place.\u201d<\/p>
Representing the public sector, Guilherme Zanetti Rosa, director of planning and concessions for electricity transmission and distribution and international interconnections at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, stated that the country has built a solid regulatory foundation over decades that continues to support the sector\u2019s attractiveness. \u201cLegal and regulatory certainty is an essential pillar in any major infrastructure project,\u201d he said.<\/p>
According to him, the recent track record of transmission auctions\u2014marked by strong competition\u2014reinforces this interest. Even so, the current scenario presents new challenges. The shift in the expansion profile, with greater weight given to the free market and the rapid entry of renewable sources, has increased planning complexity.<\/p>
\u201cToday, we plan a system that will operate seven to ten years from now, but problems evolve much faster than that,\u201d he noted. This mismatch, he added, is further intensified by the arrival of large energy loads, such as data centers and hydrogen-based energy projects, which place additional pressure on the need to expand Brazil\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p> From the investors\u2019 perspective, the main concern is the direct impact of these distortions on project returns. Ricardo Motoyama, vice president of commercial and new business at Elera Renov\u00e1veis, highlighted that curtailment (mandatory cuts in generation) is already significantly affecting the sector.<\/p> \u201cOne of the largest solar parks in the Southern Hemisphere (the Jana\u00faba Solar Complex in northern Minas Gerais) experienced generation cuts of around 25%,\u201d he said. \u201cThat means 25% of revenue lost; no business plan can sustain that over 30- or 40-year projects.\u201d<\/p> In his view, the lack of a structured solution to the issue undermines future expansion. \u201cWithout addressing this issue from the perspective of government, tariffs, and investors, we will not be able to develop new projects,\u201d he stated.<\/p> Despite uncertainties, Fabio Jacob, managing director and head of infrastructure and investment banking at Scotiabank, does not see a lack of capital, but rather greater scrutiny in capital allocation. \u201cThe money is there,\u201d he said.<\/p> According to him, Brazil\u2019s capital markets have already consolidated themselves as a relevant source of financing for infrastructure projects, including in the power sector. Still, investors and lenders have raised their requirements in light of perceived risks.<\/p> In this context, predictability becomes a determining factor. Energy infrastructure projects operate on timelines ranging from 20 to 40 years, increasing their sensitivity to regulatory changes, operational uncertainties, and system coordination failures.<\/p> Among the possible solutions discussed are the modernization of grid access rules, the use of technologies such as batteries to increase system flexibility, and adjustments to the planning model to address the sector\u2019s new dynamics.<\/p> The rise of data centers and AI increases pressure on energy infrastructure<\/strong><\/p> A new source of pressure on energy infrastructure comes from the rapid expansion of the digital economy. In the Forum panel dedicated to the role of data centers, experts highlighted that the growth of artificial intelligence is reshaping the country\u2019s energy demand profile.<\/p> \u201cData centers are no longer just an IT accessory; they are now critical infrastructure,\u201d it was noted during the discussion.<\/p> Driven by the widespread adoption of generative AI, these assets now require not only large volumes of energy, but also reliability and low latency\u2014further intensifying pressure on the power system and its capacity for coordinated expansion.<\/p> Beyond high consumption, their strategic nature is also gaining importance. The discussion pointed out that data sovereignty and national security have become part of the debate surrounding investments in this type of infrastructure.<\/p> From an operational standpoint, one of the main bottlenecks again ties directly to the broader challenges already identified in the power sector: grid access. \u201cToday, the biggest difficulty is not generating energy; it is connecting to the system,\u201d said Sergio Abela, chief operating officer at Ascenty.<\/p> In this context, the need for clearer regulatory frameworks and specific public policies also entered the agenda. The assessment is that Brazil still treats data centers in a hybrid way\u2014between real estate and technology\u2014when, in practice, they should already be classified as long-term strategic infrastructure. According to participants, this shift in perception is essential to enable investments compatible with the scale of growth in the digital economy\u2014and to prevent the same bottlenecks already observed in the power sector from becoming an obstacle to the expansion of digital infrastructure in the country.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rapid expansion of renewables strains planning, increases risks, and raises demands for regulatory certainty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":78084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1080","footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[555,215,125,229,584,209,227],"class_list":["post-78120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-ccbc","tag-brazil-canada","tag-business","tag-canada-en","tag-ccbc-en","tag-comex-en","tag-innovation","tag-tecnologia-en"],"cp_meta_data":{"_encloseme":["1"],"_wpml_word_count":["{\"total\":1000,\"to_translate\":{\"fr\":1000,\"pt-br\":1000}}"],"_wp_old_date":["2025-04-26","2026-04-27"],"_et_pb_use_builder":["off"],"_et_pb_old_content":[""],"_et_gb_content_width":["1080"],"footnotes":[""],"_et_monarch_override":[""],"sb_djhf_disable":["0"],"_et_post_bg_color":["#ffffff"],"_et_post_bg_layout":["light"],"_et_pb_show_title":["on"],"_et_pb_post_hide_nav":["default"],"_et_pb_page_layout":["et_no_sidebar"],"_et_pb_side_nav":["off"],"_wpml_media_duplicate":["1"],"_wpml_media_featured":["1"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["53"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":["Reforma Tribut\u00e1ria"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Evento do Chapter MG reuniu empresas de minera\u00e7\u00e3o e do agroneg\u00f3cio para avaliar impactos nos neg\u00f3cios com o novo sistema em discuss\u00e3o no Congresso"],"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":["56"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["5"],"_et_builder_dynamic_assets_loading_attr_threshold":["2"],"_wpml_location_migration_done":["1"],"_thumbnail_id":["78084"],"_edit_lock":["1777297066:55"],"_edit_last":["55"]},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78120"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78121,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78120\/revisions\/78121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ccbc.org.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AMF_0096-1024x683.jpg\")
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