Sugar-cane bioelectricity in Brazil: Reinforcing the meta-discourses of bioeconomy and energy transition

Abstract

This article analyses the contribution of sugar-cane bioelectricity to the distribution and diversification of power generation in Brazil. A transition is currently underway towards an energy mix characterized by natural gas and new renewable energy sources, mainly wind and solar. Energy security and industrial development priorities have created political and economic challenges for bioelectricity governance. However, meta-discourses of energy transition and bioeconomy are giving rise to selection pressures that are promoting institutional changes towards an expansion of the ethanol market. By using the multi-level perspective of transitions, this paper concludes that, given the technology in use for bioelectricity production, the critical financial state of the sugar-cane industry and the current priorities of the electricity marketing model, sugar-cane bioelectricity, which has a key role to play in the energy matrix, remains uncompetitive and dependent on specific public policies to support its expansion.