Wind and solar generate over a third of Brazil’s electricity for the first month on record

In August 2025, wind and solar power generated a record 34% of Brazil's electricity, totaling 19.0 TWh. This growth has mitigated the impact of a four-year low in hydroelectric output and reduced the reliance on fossil fuels during drought conditions.

• Wind and solar power reached a record share of 34% of Brazil's electricity generation in August 2025, producing 19.0 TWh and surpassing the previous record of 18.6 TWh set in September 2024.
• Solar and wind power have experienced significant growth over five years; solar's share rose from 2.2% in August 2020 to 13% in August 2025, while wind increased from 15% to 21% in the same period.
• Hydroelectric generation fell to 27 TWh in August 2025, the lowest level since August 2021, resulting in hydro making up 48% of the electricity mix—one of only two months on record where hydro provided less than half of the total.
• The diversification into wind and solar has prevented large spikes in fossil fuel generation during droughts; in August 2025, fossil generation was only 14% (7.8 TWh), compared to 26% (13 TWh) in August 2021.
• Between 2014 and 2024, wind and solar generation increased fifteenfold, adding 168 TWh. This growth exceeded a demand increase of 137 TWh (+22%), leading to a 45% drop in fossil generation (64 TWh) and a 31% decline in power sector emissions to 79 MtCO2 in 2024.
• Despite overall growth, solar capacity additions slowed in the first half of 2025 to 7.1 GW, down from 9.9 GW in the first half of 2024, due to regulatory uncertainty, reduced incentives, and grid-connection congestion.

APA

Fulghum, N., & Miranda, R. (2025). Wind and solar generate over a third of Brazil’s electricity for the first month on record. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/09/EN-Report-Wind-and-solar-generate-over-a-third-of-Brazils-electricity-for-the-first-month-on-record.pdf

Chicago

Fulghum, Nicolas, and Raul Miranda. Wind and solar generate over a third of Brazil’s electricity for the first month on record. Ember, 2025. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/09/EN-Report-Wind-and-solar-generate-over-a-third-of-Brazils-electricity-for-the-first-month-on-record.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fulghum |first1=Nicolas |last2=Miranda |first2=Raul |title=Wind and solar generate over a third of Brazil’s electricity for the first month on record |publisher=Ember |date=11 September 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/09/EN-Report-Wind-and-solar-generate-over-a-third-of-Brazils-electricity-for-the-first-month-on-record.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fulghum2025wind, author = {Fulghum, Nicolas and Miranda, Raul}, title = {{Wind and solar generate over a third of Brazil’s electricity for the first month on record}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2025/09/EN-Report-Wind-and-solar-generate-over-a-third-of-Brazils-electricity-for-the-first-month-on-record.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }