According to a study by the Brazilian government, Brazil's ethanol production could double by 2030, as the RenovaBio programme approved in December 2017 mandates fuel distributors to gradually increase the volumes of biofuels sold each year.
Consequently, ethanol production should grow from the current 27 billion liters/year to at least 43-49 billion liters/year by 2030 and could even reach 54 billion liters/year by this date. Most of the increase would come from sugarcane-based biofuels - 26 new sugarcane mills would have to be commissioned by 2030 - though corn-based ethanol production should also increase to 3.4 billion liters/year by 2030.
The RenovaBio programme aims at boosting the use of renewable fuels and at helping the ethanol industry recover from years of low sugar prices and strong competition (including from gas). In recent years, many sugarcane mills have been idle or went bankrupt.