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Brazil Tests First Sugarcane Ethanol Engine for Power Grid as U.S. Imposes 25% Tariff on Brazilian Ethanol
Suape Energia and Wärtsilä installed the first ethanol engine built for grid electricity at the Suape II power plant in Pernambuco. The pilot will run on Brazilian sugarcane ethanol and collect thousands of hours of performance data.
Jun 4, 5:00 PM·1m read1 source
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Brazil has installed the world’s first ethanol-powered engine built specifically to supply electricity to the grid at the Suape II power plant in Pernambuco. Brazilian energy company Suape Energia developed the unit with Finnish firm Wärtsilä. The engine is a pilot model that will operate on ethanol produced from sugarcane grown in Brazil.
The project will generate thousands of hours of operating data over the coming years to assess performance, sustainability and economic viability. Developers aim to demonstrate that ethanol can supply dispatchable power to complement intermittent sources such as wind and solar. Brazil is the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugarcane-derived ethanol.
Its ethanol sector is valued at roughly $20 billion and ranks second globally after the United States. The country requires flex-fuel vehicles to use blends of at least 30 percent ethanol and allows up to 100 percent ethanol. U.S. trade. The same day the United States proposed a 25 percent tariff on Brazilian ethanol.
Reuters reported this week on a new wave of biofuel innovation in Brazil. The Suape II test is the latest step in that effort.
