World Energy Outlook 2006

Outlook for Energy Demand
Brazil’s energy mix has become more diversified over the past several decades.
In 1980, biomass use accounted for 34% of total energy demand. Most of this
was traditional use for cooking and heating in the residential sector. Total
biomass use declined to 27% in 2004 (Figure 16.1). The use of biomass today
is predominantly based on modern energy technologies, such as the
production of ethanol from sugar cane, the cogeneration of electricity from
sugar cane bagasse, the use of sawdust and black liquor (a by-product of the
pulp and paper industries) and the production of charcoal from eucalyptus
plantations by steelmakers. Fuelwood use for cooking and heating fell from 25
Mtoe in 1971 to 11 Mtoe in 2004, though there are indications that high oil
prices have recently reversed this trend. Poor households in the north and
northeast, the least developed part of the country, still rely predominately on
fuelwood to meet their cooking and heating needs.
34%
10%
1980
111 Mtoe
1%
Figure 16.1: Primary Fuel Mix, 1980 and 2004
5%
50%
14%
27%
2004
200 Mtoe
454 World Energy Outlook 2006 - FOCUS ON KEY TOPICS
2%
8%
7%
42%
Coal Oil Gas Nuclear Hydro Biomass and waste
The share of oil in total primary energy demand has declined since the 1980s.
The share of natural gas has grown considerably, particularly in recent years,
reaching 8% in 2004. Between 1999 and 2004, gas demand grew by over 20%
per year – the result of a deliberate government policy to diversify energy sources.
Gas-fired generation is used as a backup source of electricity, to stabilise seasonal
changes in hydropower supply due to rainfall variations. Today, about 44% of