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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