Brazil’s national energy research agency Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica said that wind energy accounts for the largest share of the 23 gigawatts registered for two auctions for power contracts scheduled in July.
Brazil’s A-3 and reserve power tenders are auctions for power purchase agreements with distributors open only for wind power, biomass and small hydro plants. Reserve power auctions are focused on renewable energy sources while A-3 tenders are open for thermoelectric-based generating plants like biomass-thermal and natural gas.
Their counterpart, A-5, are for bigger hydro projects.
E.P.E. said 429 of the 568 projects registered in Brazil’s A-3 and reserve power tenders were wind farms, which had a combined capacity of 11 GW. The bulk of the wind projects are spread between the states of Rio Grande du Norte, Rio Grande du Sul, Ceare and Bahia.
Natural gas thermoelectric plants were the second-largest category, with 16 projects and a total capacity of more than 6,600 megawatts. Mauricio Tolmasquim, president of the E.P.E, said that numbers in this category reflect the recent discoveries of natural gas reserves.
The auctions will also include 81 biomass projects with capacity of 4,580 MW and 41 small hydroelectric projects with 725 MW of combined capacity, according to the statement.
All of the projects are expected to be connected to the National Interconnected System starting in 2014 following 15 to 35 year contract terms. Mr. Tolmasquim said that using an auction results in selling power at the lowest rate possible to consumers.
Around 450 hydroelectric dams currently generate nearly 80 percent of the electricity used in Brazil. However, droughts cause severe energy shortages, prompting the government to veer away from water power and diversify its energy portfolio.
The Brazilian energy regulator Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica hosted the country’s first wind-only auction in December 2009. The Reserve Energy Auction LER-2009 had 71 wind energy projects for a total capacity of 1,800 MW.
Six major wind turbine manufacturers successfully received orders following the auction, General Electric, IMPSA Wind, Siemens, Suzlon, Vestas and Wobben/Enercon.
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, A.N.E.E.L. established a price ceiling of 189 Brazilian reis ($116.73) per megawatt hour. Although this was already lower than expected, the auction achieved to lower the selling price to 148 Brazilian reis per MWh, as the result of the competition among developers.
The first Brazilian wind atlas, published in 2001, estimated that Brazil’s wind power potential was at around 143 GW. New measurements carried out in 2008 and 2009 revealed that it could be considerably higher, at more than 350 GW. In comparison, the country’s total power generation capacity at the end of 2010 was 113.4 GW.
Aside from its bustling ethanol industry, the biggest in the world, the Brazilian wind market is also booming due to factors such as large unpopulated areas, a coastline of 9,650 kilometers and excellent resources.
It grew by 326 MW in 2010, bringing the total installed capacity up to 931 MW, a growth of 54.2 percent in terms of total installed capacity, and a 23.8 percent increase in terms of annual capacity additions, according to G.W.E.C.
