Brazilian oil company Petrobras' average gasoline price hike of 7.93% was not expected to increase the economic advantage of the biofuel E100 over the fossil fuel, market participants said. The state-led oil company announced the increase on Jan. 18, which will be implemented on Jan. 19 on an ex-refinery basis. More than 80% of light vehicles in Brazil are flex-fuel, which means that drivers can fill their tanks with E100 or gasoline. The fossil fuel in the country has a mandatory blend of 27% anhydrous ethanol. The fuel's choice is usually economically driven and consumers will generally fill their tanks with E100 only when its price is 70% or less than the gasoline price, because of hydrous ethanol's lower energy content.

Jan 19, 2021 - Renewables Now

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA will be the turbine supplier for the 434-MW first phase of Santo Agostinho wind complex in Brazil, Engie Brasil Energia SA announced. According to the local arm of France's Engie SA , the wind project requires an investment of about R$ 2.2 billion. With commercial operation set to take place by March 2023, the wind complex's output will be sold in the Brazilian free energy market, which closed 2019 with a volume of operations of R$ 134 billion, 6% up from 2018.

Jan 19, 2021 - World Economic Forum

Henry Ford in 1925 called ethanol “the fuel of the future.” Blending ethanol with gasoline substantially reduces the carbon content of the fuel. According to the US EPA, “the life-cycle emissions reductions in comparison to gasoline are about 20% for corn-based ethanol and 60% for sugarcane-based ethanol”. Cars manufactured post-2001 can easily accept a blend of 15% ethanol “without causing exceedances of air pollution standards.” Brazil, for example, accounts for 25% of the world’s ethanol production – and instead of corn, it produces ethanol from sugarcane. Ethanol sourced from sugarcane is the “cheapest source of ethanol” in the world. Brazil has experimented with “fuel flex” cars, which can be operated on any mixture of ethanol and gasoline, up to 100% ethanol.

Jan 19, 2021 - Light Reading

Huawei may be allowed to participate in the construction of Brazil's 5G networks after all, according to local reports. The newspaper Estado de S. Paulo said financial pressures and the imminent exit of President Trump from the White House are forcing President Jair Bolsonaro to backtrack on his opposition to the China-based vendor from bidding to provide 5G network equipment. Reuters noted that, like Trump, Bolsonaro believes that Huawei shares confidential data with China'’s Communist government, despite a lack of proof. Only last month, Reuters reported that Bolsonaro's government was looking for a legal way to exclude Huawei from 5G networks in Brazil.