Energy projects in Brazil are shaped by sector regulation, long-term contracts and environmental licensing. Generation, trading and supply depend on authorisations from the regulators and on contracts that run for many years.
Legal questions we address
- Authorisations and regulatory filings before ANEEL (electricity) and ANP (oil, natural gas and biofuels).
- Power purchase agreements in the free market and self-supply arrangements.
- Renewable generation projects, including wind, solar and distributed generation.
- Environmental licensing and land rights for project sites and grid connections.
- Acquisition of projects and operating assets, with regulatory due diligence.
- EPC, equipment supply and operation and maintenance contracts.
Key considerations
Transfers of control of companies holding generation authorisations can require prior approval from ANEEL. In an acquisition, this approval usually falls between signing and closing and should be reflected in the conditions precedent.
Since January 2024, all consumers connected at high and medium voltage may buy energy in the free market. Corporate power purchase agreements and self-supply structures have become more common, with price, volume and regulatory risks allocated by contract.
Offshore energy (Law 15,097/2025) and low-carbon hydrogen (Law 14,948/2024) have their own legal frameworks, with important regulations still pending. Investment analysis in these segments needs to separate what the law already establishes from what will depend on regulation.
How the work is organised
Regulatory approval, land, licensing and financing follow different timetables. The legal mapping identifies the critical path and the stage at which each authorisation is required, so that contracts and investment decisions follow it.
Main legal framework
Law 9,427/1996 (ANEEL) · Law 9,478/1997 (petroleum and ANP) · Law 14,300/2022 (distributed generation) · Law 15,097/2025 (offshore energy) · Law 14,948/2024 (low-carbon hydrogen)
Information updated in November 2026. General information; it does not constitute legal advice.