Here comes the sun: Brazil's solar potential

Overview

Brazil’s solar sector, for long a laggard in the country’s renewable energy industry, has benefited from the threat of a serious energy crisis. Just over 1 per cent of the country’s homes are powered by solar energy. To reduce wasteful electricity usage, the city of Sao Paulo has passed a pioneering law requiring all new buildings to install solar water heaters. The move – which should boost sector growth to 25 per cent in 2008 – has since spurred dozens of other cities to consider...