Sustainability deterioration of electricity generation in Brazil

The power generation sector in Brazil is usually considered to have a high level of sustainability because of its large share of hydropower, about 70%. The annual growth rate of the Brazilian power sector is about 4%/year with a growing capacity addition of fossil fuels, which indicates a deterioration regarding sustainability. This work utilizes multi-criteria analysis coupled with composite indicators to infer the sustainability evolution of the power generation sector in Brazil from 2010 to 2016. Seven criteria were considered: emission of greenhouse gases, immobilized area, use of fuel resources, water use, morbidity, energy generation reliability and energy efficiency. The assessment evidenced wind power and nuclear power plants as the most sustainable options for capacity addition after hydropower. Co-generation and combined cycle technologies should be encouraged in natural gas and biomass projects in order to reduce impacts on sustainability. The assessment is interdisciplinary and admits tradeoffs amongst different impacts and benefits, for instance, environmental impacts versus energy generation reliability. It is proposed that sustainability assessments be incorporated to the formal process of decision making in order to reduce opposition and facilitate obtaining consensus among different stakeholders. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.