Gisela Regatao

Quite a bit of short-term pain.

For the next 12 months, consumers are absolutely expecting those gas price increases to pass through to consumer-facing prices overall.

Gisela Regatao reports.

Fernando de Noronha's main island is tiny, seven square miles, and isolated, 220 miles off the northeast coast of Brazil.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the island has lush vegetation, huge volcanic rocks and a blue ocean that is home to dolphins, sharks, turtles and all sorts of fish.

Noronha has around 3,000 residents and a record of 139,000 tourists visited the archipelago last year, 5% above the limits set by the government.

Until now, its electrical grid was powered by a diesel-fueled thermal plant.

For many residents here, the shift to solar is a no-brainer.

It will reduce pollution on the island.

Diesel is very polluting, says Felipe Silva, a server at a beach shack.

The new solar power plant in Noronha occupies 53 acres right in front of the airport.

It will generate 22 megawatts of electricity, almost four times the current consumption.

Many residents wanted solar panels to be installed on their roofs to avoid clearing any forests on the island.

But Leonardo Moura, operational superintendent of Neo Energia, the company that distributes electricity here, says they couldn't do that.

They needed the plant to be equipped with a battery system that stores energy to serve the island at night.

He says the project was approved by the Ministry of Energy and followed all environmental regulations.

The solar panels will occupy 1.5% of Noronha's territory, he says.

Moura says that starting next year, the diesel plant will just serve as a backup during rainy days, for example.

For more than 11 months a year, the island will be 100% carbon-free, he says.

The new plant costs $70 million and is being built in partnership with the federal and state governments.