The chief executive officer of the Sustainable Energy For All (SEforALL) Program, Rachel Kyte, invited Itaipu Binacional to join this international initiative which aims to universalize basic energy services, and to increase energy efficiency and the share of renewable energy in the global energy market by 2030.  

The possible agreement between Itaipu and SEforALL was subject of a meeting on Monday 3rd  between the executive, the general directors of Itaipu Binacional, Luiz Fernando Vianna (Brazil) and James Spalding (Paraguay), and the Executive Coordination Director, Pedro Domaniczky Lanik, who are in New York to participate in the Sustainable Energy for All Forum. The event runs until next Wednesday (5th) and brings together more than 1,000 high-level representatives from governments, business companies, civil society and international organizations.

With the theme "Going Further, Faster - Together", the Forum is a place to facilitate exchange, investments and partnerships to assist in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number seven, which is to ensure access to affordable, reliable and clean energy for everyone.

Representatives from different parts of the globe will share their experiences and results with that goal, Itaipu among them. The company is equally owned by the Brazilian and Paraguayan governments and is the world's largest producer of clean and renewable energy (103.1 million MWh produced in 2016, a new world record). Besides the hydroelectric generation, Itaipu stimulates the development of other energy sources, such as biogas, in its area of influence.

The binational's presence in the event also includes the participation of the Paraguayan General Director on the first day of debates, called "Productivity matters - Putting energy efficiency first". James Spalding spoke on this Monday during the Panel "Deep dive - the good utility", which  featured a discussion between energy business leaders about how they have achieved advances in productivity and points that still need to be developed.

Spalding spoke about the advances in maintenance and operation management that allowed Itaipu to set a new world record. The management system, adopted in 2012, increased the usage of water to generate electricity. Since then, the productivity rate of Itaipu is over 96%, which means that 96% of all water that reaches the dam is transformed into electricity. 

The event will also host the release of the third edition of the Global Tracking Framework, a publication that contains statistics about the worldwide progress towards universal access to energy services. Per the goals established by the UN, the countries need to double the contribution of renewable energy sources as well as double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030.

The directors will also have bilateral meetings with representatives of UN-related bodies, in particular, Juwang Zhu, Director of Sustainable Development, and Iván Vera, Chief of Water, Energy, and Capacity Development, both of whom work for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

Itaipu Binacional | www.itaipu.gov.br/en