Brazil advances measures to support the energy transition

Brazil has taken new steps to advance the energy transition. 

On Wednesday, the senate approved the fuel of the future (combustível do futuro) bill (PL 528/2020), which establishes national programs for green diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and biomethane. 

The proposal, which will return to the lower house for further analysis, also increases the mixture of ethanol in gasoline and biodiesel in diesel. 

A study by consultancy Oliver Wyman estimates that the program could create additional annual demand of 11.7Bl of liquid biofuels and 3.4Bm3 of biomethane and require up to 58 billion reais (US$10.4bn) of investment in additional production capacity. 

On Thursday, the mines and energy ministry announced a technical cooperation agreement aimed at implementing a regulatory framework for the introduction of SAF to Brazil.

The agreement has a duration of 60 months and was signed between oil and gas regulator ANP and aviation watchdog Anac. 

Mines and energy minister Alexandre Silveira said that the agreement is in line with the fuel of the future program. “This puts Brazil at the forefront of a fair, inclusive and balanced energy transition,” he said in a press release.

Among the objectives of the agreement is the creation of an informal forum, in which, in addition to the agencies, representatives of the various segments interested in developing the SAF market will participate. 

ACCELERATION

The senate’s infrastructure committee (CI) is due to vote in early October on a bill (PL 327/2021) that creates energy transition acceleration program Paten. 

Paten provides for the creation of a green fund to be managed by development bank BNDES to finance sustainable development projects. The green fund will be made up of tax credits the government grants the companies.

Speaking before the CI on Thursday, the vice president of distributed generation association ABGD, Zilda Costa, urged the inclusion of solar energy and batteries in the program.

“ABGD defends the use of renewable energies with the insertion of energy storage by batteries to support dealing with renewable intermittencies and allow their massification under Paten,” said Costa.

The president of electricity generator association Abrage, Marisete Pereira, suggested that Paten should include hydroelectric plants of any capacity.

“The program is limited to hydroelectric plants of up to 50MW. We’re proposing that it be extended to any installed capacity. This is firm, flexible and non-intermittent energy. The lifespan of these hydroelectric plants is more than 100 years,” she said.

The president of the local nuclear activities association Abdan, Celso Cunha, also called for the segment to be included in Paten.

“The United Nations has stated several times that without nuclear there is no transition because the volume of energy that needs to be transitioned is immense,” said Cunha.

Yuri Schmitke, the president of waste energy recovery association Abren, said Paten should consider biogas, biomethane and biodigestion, as well as energy recovery plants.

“Brazil currently directs solid urban waste to inappropriate locations. If we consider metropolitan regions, which no longer have the capacity to bury waste, energy recovery is the most suitable option from an environmental and public health point of view,” he said at the CI hearing. 

According to Schmitke, the new legislation could help make power plant projects viable with a total of 3.3GW of installed power, a projected lifespan of 40 years and an estimated investment of 182bn reais.

TRANSMISSION

On Friday, the mines and energy ministry held a meeting with other governmental bodies to monitor the environmental licensing of the 800kV CC Graça Aranha-Silvânia transmission line and associated facilities. 

The line will allow transport of large blocks of renewable energy in the north and northeast.

The 1,600km line will cross 41 municipalities, 14 of which are in Maranhão, 12 in Tocantins, 14 in Goiás and one in Minas Gerais.

“In addition to the generation of jobs and income that a project of this size can provide, it will add even more clean energy to the Brazilian electricity matrix, which is essential if we are to take another step toward a fair and inclusive energy transition,” said Silveira.