Brazilian wind power starts blowing in 2009

The first tender for wind power projects, through which the Government authorizes 71 projects to install 1,805,7 MW, to be built in five north-eastern States. This was the lowest unique bid (online) auction for twenty-year long projects and it ended with an unexpected average price of 148.4 real/MWh (58.3 euros), well below – 21% – the top bid (189 real/MWh).

Among winners, Among winners, the lowest accepted rebate was 153 real/MWh, while the highest was 131 real. Projects totalized an estimated 19 billion real (approximately 7.5 billion euro).

Initially, hundreds of projects had been authorized to join the bid, for a wind capacity over 13,000 MW, 10,000 MW of which were approved and registered. Subsequently only 271 projects submitted their bids, for a total capacity of over 6,000 MW.

Brazil’s first wind energy turbine was installed in Fernando de Noronha Archipelago in 1992. Ten years later the government created the Program for Incentive of Alternative Electric Energy Sources (Proinfa) to encourage the use of other renewable sources, such as wind power.

Since the inception of Proinfa, Brazil’s wind energy production has escalated from 22 MW in 2003 to 602 MW in 2009, as part of 36 private projects. Another 10 projects are under construction, with a capacity of 256.4 MW, and 45 additional projects have been approved be ANEEL with an estimated potential of 2,139.7 MW.

The construction of the new plants will take place in the Rio Grande do Norte for 657 MW, in the Ceará State for 542 MW, in the State of Bahía for 390 MW, in that of Río Grande fro 186 MW and in Sergipe for 30 MW. The current installed capacity in Brazil is 600 MW.

www.mme.gov.br/mme/noticias/destaque_foto/destaque_0053.html

www.enelgreenpower.com