Aluminum consumption may drop by 4%
The aluminum market, following the same path as other sectors, such as steel and construction materials, will end the year with a decline in consumption. It is estimated to be close to 4% compared to 2022. The forecast is from the Brazilian Aluminum Association (Abal). In the middle of the first half of the year, […]
Market sees policy interest rate under pressure
If the consensus view among market economists proves to be correct, the Central Bank will keep the Selic policy interest rate for quite some time at the current 13.75% before starting a process of interest rate easing. The stimuli contracted for next year and the uncertainties surrounding the future government’s handling of fiscal policy have […]
Agribusiness expected to grow in 2023
The Brazilian agribusiness has something to celebrate this Christmas. It was a year in which the sector reaped positive results despite the climate, high inflation, the drop in consumers’ purchasing power, high-interest rates, electoral tension on the domestic front, and the turbulence caused by the war in Ukraine and by Covid (especially in China) abroad. […]
New wave of railroad projects totals R$61bn
In the last four years, the railroad sector has seen a wave of new projects. At least R$61 billion in investments were contracted (considering the values at the time of contracting), including auctions of new stretches, early renewal of concessions, and a new private railroad. The impact of most of these projects is still to […]
Berkeley Lab releases findings from research into solar-storage colocation in the US
US national energy laboratory Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has released its top 10 findings from a research programme into renewable projects that pair generation with energy storage, so-called hybrid projects. The research into the growing trend of hybridisation, or colocation, has been carried out in order to better understand where batteries should be located […]
Energy Is More Than A Lifestyle Choice.
In 1943 a psychologist named Abraham Maslow suggested that human beings have a hierarchy of needs, with needs at the bottom required to be fulfilled before the needs above can be attended to. In his revolutionary theory, the basic needs required for survival such as food, water and warmth are at the bottom, whilst the […]
Brazil to increase oil production to help stabilize energy markets
Brazil is expected to increase oil production this year by around 300,000 barrels a day, which will lead to a 10% increase in national production, Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque said on Wednesday at the opening of the International Energy Agency (IEA) ministerial meeting in Paris. According to Mr. Albuquerque, the increase in crude […]
New York doubles 2030 energy storage deployment target to 6GW
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has been applauded for recognising the importance of energy storage as a key technology for achieving climate, clean energy and economic growth goals. The governor gave the annual State of the State Address yesterday, outlining her agenda for 2022. It included the unveiling of more than 200 initiatives and […]
Biden’s Infrastructure Law: Energy & Sustainability Implications
On November 15th, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“the Law”) into law. The historic infrastructure plan includes the single largest investment to address climate change in U.S. history.[1] The Law allocates billions of dollars to priority areas, including significant funding for the development of carbon capture infrastructure, alternative energy sources and […]
Reconnecting America: What can the trillion dollar infrastructure bill achieve?
President Trump once described America’s infrastructure as “crumbling,” it’s perhaps why after much wrangling, the US Congress finally approved the trillion dollar bi-partisan infrastructure bill. But what can it achieve? And is it good value for money? We’ll criss-cross the United States hearing from projects hoping cash from the bill will make their visions for […]