Business Green: In one of the largest cleantech deals of the year and a ringing endorsement of the booming Brazilian biofuel sector, Sao Paulo-based Vital Renewable Energy Company (VREC) has announced this week that it has secured over $1bn (£680m) of funding from a group of US, European and Middle Eastern investors. The company said that the investment would be used to help fund a wide range of renewable energy projects across Brazil, mainly focused on ethanol production and electricity …