Brazil allocates 269.3 MW of solar across two energy auctions

From pv magazine Latam

Last week, Brazil's energy regulator, Aneel, and the Chamber for the Commercialisation of Electrical Energy (CCEE) held the new-energy auctions A-3/2021 and A-4/2021, the first of their kind organized since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Energy Research Company (EPE), which is controlled by the country's Ministry of Energy and Mines, had registered 1,841 projects totaling 66,862 MW of power.

In total, seven solar projects were among the winners (out of 51 in total). Of these, five (out of a total 33) were awarded in Leilão A-3/2021, and two (out of a total 18) in Leilão A-4/2021.

In the case of Leilão A-3/2021, the projects will be located in Pernambuco and Paraíba, the investment amounts to BRL618.8 million ($118 million) and they have a combined capacity of 169.3 MW.

In Leilão A-4/2021, the two projects will be built in Paraíba with an estimated investment of BRL289.3 million ($55 million) and they add up to 100 MW.

In the opinion of André Patrus, executive director of Aneel's executive secretariat for auctions, the two auctions were a success. “We contract[ed] all the sources offered, contributing to the diversification of the national electricity matrix, with significant discounts and savings of around BRL2.5 billion for consumers, considering the reduction in the price of the energy negotiated in relation to the final prices,” said Patrus.

The signed agreements, which amount to BRL4 billion in future investments in the construction of the plants, will have a duration of 20 and 30 years and will begin to supply energy in January 2024 and January 2025.

In total, 33 companies won the A-3/2021 auction and three hydroelectric projects with a capacity of 35.25 MW were awarded. Regarding wind energy, there were 23 projects, with a capacity of 251.7 MW, and two biomass projects, with a capacity of 91.14 MW.

Regarding A-4/2021, three hydroelectric projects with a capacity of 77.018 MW were awarded; ten wind projects totaling 167.8 MW, and three biomass projects with a capacity of 92.5 MW.