The Relationship between Renewable Energy and Economic Growth in a Time of COVID-19 : A Machine Learning Experiment on the Brazilian Economy

This paper examines the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in Brazil, in the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) experiment in Machine Learning, we tried to verify if a more intensive use of renewable energy could generate a positive GDP acceleration in Brazil. This acceleration could offset the harmful effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Empirical findings show that an ever-greater use of renewable energies may sustain the economic growth process. In fact, through a model of ANNs, we highlighted how an increasing consumption of renewable energies triggers an acceleration of the GDP compared to other energy variables considered in the model