Brazil's I-REC market in 2023: over 51 million certificates

Brazil's momentum in renewable energy continues to be impressive, and it is reflected in the I-REC data for the 2023 vintage.

A global renewable energy leader

Brazil ranks among the world's leaders in renewable energy capacity, and inside the I-REC market it is the 2nd largest issuer worldwide and the largest in Latin America. In 2023, issuance grew 48.1% to more than 51.2 million certificates, and redemptions grew 43.1% to over 44 million MWh. With more companies advancing their sustainability goals, over 85% of the I-RECs issued had already been redeemed at the time of our analysis.

At the time of writing, Brazil was also set to become the world's largest producer of I-RECs following China's exit from the market earlier in 2024. (Our 2024 analysis confirms that it did.)

A diverse technology mix

With one of the largest systems of waterways in the world, Brazil has leveraged its vast hydro resources to power its renewable energy sector: 9 of the 10 largest active renewable assets producing I-RECs are hydro plants located in Brazil. Hydro accounts for 58.5% of issuance, followed by wind (32.2%), solar (6.4%), biomass (2.7%) and biogas (0.1%).

Significant new registrations

Vintage 2023 counted 600 registered active assets, 125 more than in 2022. Like other markets, Brazil is rapidly adding wind and solar: 56 new wind and 50 new solar assets were registered for 2023 production, most of them in operation for less than five years. In contrast, 33 new hydro assets were registered, with an average commercial operation date in 1985, which explains why the overall average COD moved back to December 1998. Active installed capacity surpassed 74 GW.

Certificates in Brazil are issued by Instituto Totum.

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What it means for buyers

Brazil's scale makes it the natural source for large corporate volumes, and the fast growth of wind and solar gives buyers a real choice of technology and asset age.