Brazil approves draft notice for first transmission auction of 2024

Brazil's electric power watchdog Aneel has approved the draft notice for the first energy transmission auction of 2024, which involves the construction and maintenance of 6,464km of new transmission lines and sections and 9,200MW in transformation capacity. 

The draft will be sent to the federal audit court (TCU) for approval in the next few days. 

The auction, which will be held on March 28, 2024, involves facilities in 15 states, with expected investments of 18.2bn reais (US$3.7bn).

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Veolia and Braskem inaugurated a biomass plant to power the latter's PVC plastic industrial unit in Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas state.

In 2021, the companies signed a 20-year contract to produce renewable energy from biomass. 

With an investment of approximately 400mn reais (US$20mn), the green steam generation plant will generate around 900,000t/y of steam, which will contribute to the reduction of around 150,000t/y of greenhouse gases (GHG).

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In October, Brazil approached 8GW in generation projects inaugurated in 2023, ending the month with an expansion of 7,799MW registered with Aneel over the course of the year. 

Two sources, wind and centralized PV solar, accounted for 89.8% of this increase, with 7,007MW going into operation in the last 10 months.

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Brazil has reached the milestone of 1,000 wind farms in operation, taking into account plants undergoing testing and in commercial activity, according to the local sector association Abeeólica. 

The figure was reached following the release of two Pan American Energy wind farms for test operations. 

In all, the farms in operation have total installed capacity of around 29GW.

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Statkraft has signed an agreement to acquire Enerfín, the renewable subsidiary of Spain's Elecnor. 

The transaction positions Statkraft in Brazil as one of the three largest wind power generators in Brazil. 

Statkraft will now manage nine wind farms in operation in the country, adding 632MW to its portfolio. 

The projects are located in Rio Grande do Sul and Rio Grande do Norte states. There is also 68MW under construction in Pernambuco state. 

The transaction also includes a portfolio of projects at various stages of development. 

As a result, after the integration, Statkraft will surpass 2GW mark of renewable energy.

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Aneel has postponed the end-of-supply date for the Porto do Pecém II thermoelectric plant's energy sales contracts in the regulated environment. 

As a result, the contracts will run until September 2, 2028, an increase of 246 days compared with the previous term, which would have ended on December 31, 2027.

Located in Ceará state, Porto do Pecém II has an installed capacity of 365MW and began commercial operations on October 18, 2013. 

Operated by Eneva, the plant sold an average of 277MW in Aneel's 2008 A-5 new energy auction.

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Wilson Sons has signed a contract with BP to provide logistical support services for exploration activities in the Pau Brasil block, located in the pre-salt of the Santos basin. 

The services will be provided from one of its offshore support bases in Guanabara Bay, in Rio de Janeiro state. 

The contract is valid for one year. 

The Pau Brasil campaign is scheduled to begin in 2024.

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Brazil oil workers union FUP is pressuring Petrobras to take the Bahia nitrogen fertilizer unit back. 

The plant, which was leased to Unigel in 2020, is currently out of operation. 

FUP claims that Unigel is not fulfilling its contractual obligations under the lease. 

Unigel declined to comment on the matter when contacted by BNamericas. 

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A Petrobras delegation and the executive director for logistics, marketing and markets, Claudio Romeo Schlosser, visited the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Monday in search of business opportunities. 

They were able to see ammonia facilities and projects to capture carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as the largest renewable hydrogen plant being built in Europe. 

"The agenda was very important for us to exchange experiences between the countries, not only in logistics, but also in sustainable solutions aimed at an energy transition, with technology and innovation," Schlosser said in a release.

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Last week, Petrobras signed an MOU with European Energy, a Danish company with vertical operations in the energy transition, including renewable generation and green hydrogen-based solutions, to assess business opportunities for the development of an e-methanol plant project in Brazil.

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Ocyan, a supplier of goods and services to the oil and gas industry, has signed an agreement with Vidya Technology, a startup specializing in asset integrity. 

This is the first time that Ocyan has invested in a startup in the form of venture capital. 

Ocyan will now have a minority shareholding in the startup, which in turn will also be able to use the company's assets and technical expertise to carry out innovative projects.