Tech Roundup: Brazilian telecoms switch to solar power

You’re reading The Brazilian Report’s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: telecom firms eye up solar power as a way to save money, AI could boost Brazil’s GDP, and the country’s beauty market goes online. 

Brazilian telecom operators switch to solar power

The economy’s green drive has reached Brazil’s telecom sector as TIM and Oi — two of the country’s biggest telecom operators — announced they are investing in solar power as a way to produce cleaner energy and cut costs.

• TIM launched its new energy goals for 2021. The company aims to rely on 60 renewable energy plants — including solar power, hydroelectric, and biogas facilities — to generate 38 GWh, or over 80 percent of the company’s total demand. This year, TIM has already surpassed its goal of ensuring 60 percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources.
• Meanwhile, Oi Telecom announced a deal with Faro Energy to provide solar power for its operations in Minas Gerais. The Janaúba and Jaíba power plants cost BRL 45 million, but can provide 21 GWh per year — enough to power 1,900 company sites.

Telecom firms eye the long term. TIM aims to slash neutral emissions by 70 percent before 2025 and to be carbon neutral by 2030. Oi strives to have a 100 percent renewable energy mix in two years time; it will end 2020 having reached 60 percent of its goal. 

Cutting costs. In 2020 alone, Oi saved some BRL 400 million by changing its energy mix, due to the cheaper costs of solar power. This is crucial for the company, as it is currently under court-supervised reorganization. TIM also aims to obtain savings from its green drive, reinvesting this money to update its networks, according to company executives. 

• According to TIM, diversification is also necessary...