Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Geothermal Country Notes

Brazil
The utilisation of Brazil's huge low-temperature geothermal resource has until now been extremely small. Much research has been undertaken by the Geothermal Laboratory of the National Observatory since the 1970s and it is thought that high-temperature geothermal heat exists only in the offshore Atlantic islands.

At the present time, the installed capacity (some 360 MWt) is used directly, largely for bathing and swimming, with just 4 MWt used for agricultural drying/industrial process heat. The 12 or so systems in place (mostly located in the western-central area and the south) can be classified as BRT (bathing, recreation and tourism), PIS (potential for industrial use and space heating) and TDB (therapeutic, drinking and bathing). The BRT systems total 16 MWt, the PIS, 343 MWt and the TDB, 3 MWt, although currently the PIS element is not being used industrially, but for recreational purposes.