As technology advances, it is almost impossible to imagine our lives without electricity, after all, it is responsible for many tasks in our daily lives. In order for it to arrive at our homes and businesses with quality and safety, we have to count with the electrical matrix help.
Throughout the years, electricity has become so important that according to the World Energy Outlook 2018 report, the global population without access to it has dropped to less than a billion. Do you want to learn more about it? Then make sure to keep up with the information we gathered for you!
What is an electrical matrix?
The world’s electrical matrix is composed of a group of available sources for the generation of electricity inside a state or country and we can benefit from it through listening to music on the radio, watching TV, taking warm showers, turning on the lights and so on.
The world’s electricity production, in most cases, is based on fossil fuels, like natural gas (23%) and coal (38%). Only 7,3% refers to solar power, eolic, geothermal, etc., while petroil and derivatives get 2,9%.
Electricity generation through fossil fuels is still present in many countries around the world, despite many efforts for a decarbonization in these economies. One of the main reasons for it are coal energy sources, which offer lower cost.
Although it is a cheaper alternative when compared to renewable sources such as hydroelectric plants, it has a large emission of polluting gas. This is the most present source in China, representing more than 60% of its energetic capacity installed in the country.
Brazilian electrical matrix
Unlike the global scenario, the Brazilian electrical matrix is 83% formed by renewable energy sources. This figure was collected by a research run by the Secretariat for Energy Planning and Development of the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Brazil in January 2020.
According to ANEEL/ABSOLAR, the Brazilian energetic matrix is divided as follows:
hydroelectric (61,3%), eolic (8,8%), biomass (8,5%), natural gas energy sources (8,4%), petroil and other fossils (5,2%), coal (0,2%) e imports (4,6%).
Despite more than 60% of electricity being provenient from hydroelectric plants, the rising of other sources continues to be very positive and necessary. That happens because water is a finite natural resource as opposed to the sun and wind, which are endless and renewable resources.
That path is being created by a union between many different sectors and strong strategies that act in the conquest of a more sustainable world. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) report of 2018, in 2040, the electrical matrix of Brazil will be 96% constituted by low carbon energy.
Renewable and non-renewable resources
Now that we know what an electrical matrix is, we need to understand that resources which compose them can be renewable or not. The first option is regarding those resources that can be regenerated in a short period of time, as it happens in eolic energy, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydroelectric.
Now non-renewable resources are those that use finite natural resources, that is, elements that do not regenerate themselves in a short window of time. Among the main examples of this option are: natural gas, oil energy sources, nuclear energy and coal.
What is the difference between an electrical matrix and an energetic matrix?
The energy matrix consists of a set of renewable or non-renewable sources, responsible for generating energy to meet demands such as residence, transportation, trade, etc.
According to Brazil’s Energetic Nation Balance of 2019, more than half of produced energy in Brazil (54,7%) comes from non-renewable resources. Besides, transportation (cargo and passengers) and industry sectors correspond to (64%) of energy of the country’s electricity consumption.
It is interesting that the energetic matrix of the country is more renewable than the world’s. That is very important regarding the preservation of the environment, considering that non-renewable resources are the main reason for the emission of greenhouse gases. Thus, the population enjoys the benefits from electricity while caring for nature, since it has low environmental impact.
The electrical matrix is an energetic part, but, in this case, only used sources are considered in energy generation. As we mentioned previously, it embraces different possibilities.
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