Renewable energy certificates are gaining visibility in the world and more recently in Brazil as well.
The motivation is mainly to encourage companies and institutions to start contracting energy from renewable sources, thus reducing emissions.
But... in Brazil, as the power supply side is structured, everyone is already contracting energy from primarily renewable sources. Sources such as natural gas, coal, oil, etc. are used only to supplement needs (as they are way more expensive) and are essentially dispatched by the National System Operator.
Hydraulic and solar sources, which combined already represent around 80% of our energy matrix. The thermal plants are only dispatched when the renewable ones do not meet the demand. It is the criterion of the "cost merit order".
In other words, here in Brazil, these certificates do not present any real benefit in terms of replacing non-renewable sources by renewable ones.
Conclusion: I-Rec in Brazil is a marketing tool that can be interesting for companies and institutions to sell their image, but it does not change the profile of our energy matrix, in fact!
Rafael Herzberg
Expert Member
Top Contributor