By Mario Ruiz-Tagle*
In recent years,
technological development and innovation have proven to be increasingly
essential to the evolution of the electricity sector in Brazil and worldwide.
It is clear that paths open up as new products, tools, systems are created and
discovered, services become more efficient, the economy heats up, and the
market matures. People develop and companies are able to attract and retain
their talents with innovation and the adoption of new technologies.
The electric sector has
grown exponentially and we are attentive to global movements, being aware of
sectorial challenges and, at the same time, holding one of the most renewable
energy matrixes on the planet.
Recently, we demonstrated
how modernization and digitalization are key in every Brazilian's life. Without
energy we would not be able to perform our daily activities. In this sense, the
main challenge of the energy transition process is the regulation of the
adoption of new, more innovative and disruptive technologies to enable us to
become more connected, more efficient and to provide us with cheaper energy.
All this progress has
already brought us results, such as the provision of resources to generate our
own energy at home, through solar panels. It is also worth noting that our
expertise in international markets inspires us to set goals for a cleaner
future, especially with the growth of wind sources, and to act more efficiently. In a
company of the electric sector, investing in solutions, technology, and
modernization means acting directly in the company's financial health and in
the preservation of the environment. Sustainable development to achieve a
low-carbon economy will only be possible if all these actions are seen as
strategic and actually carried out.
We know this is not an easy
path, a transition is never free, this is the challenge to build an efficient
and concept-driven regulation of all these promising technologies. We must seek
to maximize the forces of all the agents involved in this process. I believe
that there will not be another chance to achieve these goals and the commitment
of the organizations is very important. The private sector's role is of utmost
importance, with an active role in triggering discussions and motivating the
creation of public policies, engaging governments and states in this purpose.
This is the way for the energy transition to be a sustainable and long-lasting
action, otherwise results will be short term and failure will be very costly
for Brazil and its electric sector.
We need to see energy
transition as a legitimate opportunity, not only from the point of view of the
investments we make to implement the new technologies, but in the emergence of
new concepts, new business activities, and a new culture of business
management, as well as of human and customer behavior.
Aiming to foster innovation
and collaborative management, we at Neoenergia have recently launched the platform “GoIn”, part of a structuring governance
initiative that transforms ideas suggested by employees into feasible solutions
for all the company's business areas. This is a pioneer system in the market
due to its comprehensiveness and functionality, developed with end-to-end
innovation in mind.
It is important to
emphasize that energy transformation is not a disruption, it is a transition,
and every transition is long and gradual, and must be well studied to generate
the expected results. Through its development, technologies are generated that
create jobs, income, and gains for the Brazilian population. For 25 years we have been actively working along
this path of energy sustainability, bringing renewable and clean energy.
In my view, investments in
technology and clean energy are an undisputable path. We found great potential
in marine wind, as well as in green hydrogen, an important vector to accelerate
industrial decarbonization and to contribute to process electrification, since
it is obtained from renewable sources. Both are in the regulatory structuring
phase so that they can be incorporated into the energy transformation movement.
Solutions such as energy storage, batteries, hybrid power plants, and reversible
hydro power should also be on the sector’s agenda.
The future is bright and we
have a long way to go to meet our goal of being emission-neutral by 2050. I
have an optimistic view that changes focused on decarbonization,
decentralization and digitalization will lead to unique opportunities to Brazil
and the entire planet. We have a great potential and the electric sector will
be one of the main agents in this transition, always allied with innovation.
*Article
by MARIO RUIZ-TAGLE, Neoenergia’s CEO