My Experience with Renewables 40 Years Ago In Brazil

?Back in the 1980s, I was part of an Alternative Energy Project in Northeast Brazil while working as a Transmission Planning Engineer for CHESF, the federal utility serving the region.

?The project, conducted in cooperation with the German government, included a 30 kWp PV system, a 250 kW wind turbine, and a 1 MW diesel generator (if I recall correctly), all operating off-grid. My role was to monitor the waveforms of voltage and currents—a natural fit since I had recently completed my PhD on Harmonics.

?At the time, CHESF's lowest supply voltage was 230 kV, as the company catered primarily to state utilities and large industrial customers. Because of this, the project was seen more as an experiment than a serious contribution to energy solutions.

?Ironically, two decades later, Northeast Brazil became a hub for renewable energy, with wind and PV plants now generating over 20% of the country’s electric energy demand.

?The lesson learned: Early renewable energy projects, even when undervalued or dismissed, serve as crucial steps for future improvements. Sometimes, the value of innovation is only fully realized with time.

However, the challenges of integrating renewables into the electric grid are far from resolved, and the effort to design resilient and sustainable power systems continues.

See the images below - The top figure is of the Wind Farm Rio do Fogo less than 90 km from the place of the experiment.

Time flies - - -

?Cheers,

?Paulo