Brazil: A Future Energy Superpower?

An interactive map published in the Financial Times ("Brazil: A Model for Modern Energy," July 6, 2009) clearly illustrates why Brazil may soon be among the world's energy superpowers.

As the FT states:

"The discovery of potentially massive reserves of oil and gas off its coast in 2007 seems set to transform the country’s position as an energy superpower and the government says it plans to join Opec in the near future. However, Brazil already sources most of its electricity from hydroelectric dams and most cars in the country have the option to use ethanol as fuel, which can be sourced from sugar cane. As a result, the Latin American giant appears to be perfectly set up to deal with the energy challenges of the next century."

The map can be switched between fossil fuel resources and power and energy use.

We are all aware that the European Union and (belatedly) the U.S. like to bang on about what they are doing to address energy issues, but frankly they are poor distant cousins to Brazil when it comes to energy resources on their home soil. (That's not to suggest that they never had any natural resources, but rather that today they have a relatively limited amount.)  

Have a look yourself and draw your own conclusions.