This article analyses the current state of the debate over competition for land use, by means of an index of the main arguments in favor and against the production of liquid biofuels and the impacts on food production. Based on this index, an analytic framework is constructed to establish the...

This study analyses the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) potential in Brazil and evaluates the impact caused by a large-scale integration of this alternative into the Brazilian electricity system in the long term (horizon 2040). Four types of CSP plants with parabolic troughs (simple plants,...

Photovoltaic (PV) solar energy is a promising source of electricity generation, but still at a relatively high cost. Nevertheless, distributed photovoltaic generation does not compete for land use, as it is incorporated into existing buildings, and should be analyzed from the standpoint of the...

After the introduction of flexfuel vehicles in Brazil, hydrated ethanol and gasohol (gasoline blended with anhydrous ethanol at an average volumetric proportion of 75:25) became basically perfect substitutes. This paper tests the hypothesis that hydrated ethanol prices follow the price of...

Brazil's wind power potential is impressive. The incentive policies that have being implemented in the country, since the last decade, promoted the implementation of some projects, mainly through the Alternative Energy Sources Incentive Program (PROINFA), which started in 2002. After the first...

This article analyzes the taxation of the liquid fuels used in light duty vehicles in Brazil (gasoline blended with anhydrous ethanol, known as gasohol, and hydrated ethanol). Ethanol’s success in Brazil is largely explained by government incentives to producers and consumers. This has created...

Biofuels' potential supply is uncertain. This uncertainty involves not only the possibility of expanding bio-energetic cultures in the medium term but also the risk of supply disruptions in the short term. These supply disruptions may be mainly caused by climatic conditions, soil management,...

The availability and reliability of wind power depend a great deal on current and future climate conditions, which may vary in light of possible global climate change (GCC). Long-term energy planning, however, does not normally take possible future GCC into consideration, which may turn out to...