02/05/2013
Government trade wind farms by coal-fired power plants Autor: TN Petróleo
The federal government is promoting adjustments in planning the supply of electric power generation in the short term. Given the delays in transmission expansion and the need to strengthen energy security, the government is reducing the hiring of wind farms and increasing the space for the power plants, especially coal-fired plants, as investors do not have access to cheap natural gas for new projects.
Proof of this is that the supply of wind power auctions this year will be substantially lower due to the new rules established by the enabling Energy Research Company (EPE). In the A-5 auction 2012 - which aims hiring demand called captive market with five years in advance - 14 megawatts (MW) of wind power have been enabled by the EPE.
With the requirement to guarantee connection to the transmission system, the supply should drop to 2500 MW, according to the president of the Brazilian Association of Wind Energy (Abeeólica) Elbia Melo, based on information from EPE.
As president of the EPE, Maurício Tolmasquim, the design of the electric sector model already predicted that the most appropriate auctions for wind would be the type A-3 (three years prior), which are more compatible with the construction period of a plant. "The A-5 is designed for large hydro and thermal plants with a longer construction period."
In recent years, EPE has allowed the participation of wind farms in the A-5 for lack of hydroelectric and thermal able to compete in the bidding. "Now we have to balance the expansion of the energy matrix. Hire just no use wind farms," said Tolmasquim, in reference to the recent success of supply in recent auctions, when supplanted thermal sources in disputes, including natural gas plants.
The executive participated in the April 29 morning Forum Trading Wind Power in the auditorium of the headquarters of Furnas in Rio Meeting participants were welcomed with a demonstration in front of the building promoted by unions Sintaerj, and Sintergia Asef.
The protest was aimed at discussing the statutory reform in discussion of the Eletrobras System, which in the view of unions will reap the benefits of workers and reduce the workforce. They promised a general strike in Furnas, which lasted only the morning.
