Wind energy compensates part of the hydroelectric losses in Brazil

Virtually non-existent in the Brazilian energy matrix during the 2001 crisis, wind power has already become the second most used in Brazil, representing 10.8% of the consumption of the National Interconnected System (SIN), according to data from the National System. Electric Operator (ONS). This proportion, however, will increase until November, a period to which what the energy market classifies as “wind harvest” extends.

The second half of the year is the time when, traditionally, the winds are most favorable for the production of Brazilian wind energy. For her, the wind is not enough: it must have stable winds, with the appropriate speed and without sudden changes in direction. These more favorable conditions that occur during the harvest increase the segment’s participation in the parent company.

During this period, wind power tends to break generation records, increasing the segment’s share in the parent. It is usually close to 20%, and right now, it is at 16.9%. In the same period, hydroelectric plants, responsible for 63.2% of installed capacity, have contributed only 43.3% of energy, due to the low level of reservoirs.

Brazil currently has the seventh largest installed capacity in the world for the production of wind energy, with 726 wind farms capable of producing 19.1 gigawatts (GW). The goal is to close the year with 20.1 GW, almost 14 times more than that registered in the country ten years earlier. A rate that, according to Elbia Gannoum, president of the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEólica), will continue to be intense in the coming years.

“We are going to expand the installed capacity with wind turbines to 30 GW by 2024. This, based on the auction contracts already executed and the works in progress, are not just expectations. We have been adding, on average, 3 GW of installed capacity per year. Around 80% of wind energy in Brazil is currently concentrated in the Northeast, which has the best winds, but there is also significant production in Rio Grande do Sul, ”she says.

During the harvest of the winds, the sector tends to break generation records that increase the segment’s participation in the parent company. It is often close to 20% and right now it is at 17.9%. Meanwhile, hydroelectric plants, responsible for 63.2% of installed capacity, have delivered 43.9% of energy.

For Elbia Gannoum, one of the challenges of Brazilian energy planning is to understand that hydroelectric plants can no longer deliver the energy corresponding to the installed production capacity.

“Even if we weren’t in the middle of a water crisis, energy would already be at the center of the discussions because it is influenced by various factors. Among them, climatic changes that alter the cycles of nature and environmental objectives. The energy planner, who does a very good job, must understand that hydroelectric plants can no longer deliver 63.5% of Brazilian energy. Maybe I can deliver 50% ”, she evaluates.

The matrix diversification plans, carried out by the Ministry of Energy Mines, intend to reduce the participation of hydroelectric plants, from 6.2% in 2021, to 58.9% by December 2025. The data comes from the Monthly Operation Program Report (PMO ), prepared by the ONS in August.