Title: On wind energy, electricity free market, and life cycle assessment in Brazil

Authors: Claudio Frate-Albuquerque, Armando Caldeira-Pires

Addresses: Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Brasilia, 70910–900, Brazil. ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Brasilia, 70910–900, Brazil

Abstract: This paper assesses strategies to foster market development for the wind energy in Brazil, based on the importance of the consumption of this renewable energy to minimise environmental and social impacts of the productive life cycles, assuming the existence of economic and legal incentives. The analysis encompasses five descriptive phases. The first one describes the Brazilian wind energy programme, characterising its perspectives and its current status quo. The second phase reveals the existence of various degrees of environmental impacts and externalities for different energy power plants, highlighting relevant economic issues for the creation of wind electricity markets. Then it analyses the relationship between energy demand generated with their products| life cycle assessment, and how the decrease of production environmental impacts influences market development in a free competition scenario in order to, in the next phase, suggest how economic and legal instruments should be promoted. The concluding part points out actions and tolls already available to implement these strategies.

Keywords: wind power; wind energy; policy incentives; life cycle assessment; electricity free market; Brazil; environmental impact; economic instruments; legal instruments; energy demand.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETP.2005.008400

International Journal of Energy Technology and Policy, 2005 Vol.3 No.4, pp.355 - 362

Published online: 17 Dec 2005 *

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