Natural gas plant in Caçapava to be strategic for Brazil’s energy security

Press release by Natural Energia

This is a machine translation of the original release, published in Portuguese

June 20, 2024

Natural Energia will invest R$5 billion in the construction of an energy transition plant, UTE São Paulo, a project that aims to guarantee the country's energy security, especially in the Southeast Region and guarantee the viability of the expansion of renewables. UTE São Paulo will have an installed capacity of up to 1,750 MW and will initially use natural gas in its operations.

Energy generation from renewable sources, in wind and solar farms, has grown rapidly in the country in recent years. Although it is a positive movement, this expansion of intermittent renewable sources (dependent on wind and sun) has increased the need to contract plants as reserve capacity so that they can be activated immediately when there is an imbalance between energy generation and demand.

The insertion of this technology will allow the creation of a firm generation base for the Brazilian electrical system, thus expanding the country's energy security. Furthermore, this reserve generation base also ensures the maintenance of the growth plan for the supply of wind and solar energy, with thermal plants (such as Caçapava) ensuring risk-free supply of demand.

UTE São Paulo is expected to generate 2 thousand direct jobs. The project will prioritize the hiring of labor from the region, which will open up an important job offer for the residents of Caçapava and nearby cities. In addition to creating thousands of jobs, the project will also create several opportunities for suppliers of goods and services in the Vale do Paraíba Region. In the operational phase, thousands of indirect jobs could be created with the arrival of new companies to the State, such as data centers, hospitals, industries, shopping centers, among others.

The plant will be installed in the industrial district of Caçapava, in the interior of São Paulo, and is in the environmental licensing phase with the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Resources (Ibama).

The Environmental Impact Study and the Environmental Impact Report (EIA-Rima), a document that details the entire project, was developed over the last few years and will finally be presented to the population on the 2nd and 4th of July, in public hearings which will be held in the cities of Caçapava and São José dos Campos. It will be the first time that Natural Energia will have the opportunity to explain in detail why the project is environmentally viable to be installed in the region.

Water resources

The project received from the Department of Water and Electric Energy (DAEE), an agency of the Government of the State of São Paulo, a declaration of feasibility for capturing the plant. Due to the new technology that allows the use of air cooling, the volume of water required will be smaller than other plants and even smaller than many other catchments in the region.

“UTE São Paulo will be strategic for expanding the country's energy security, as it will be activated on demand at times of peak consumption in the Southeast region, as determined by the National Electric System Operator (ONS). All socio-environmental studies carried out by Natural Energia show that the project has economic and environmental viability, and will help the sustainable development of the region as an important base for the Brazilian electricity sector”, says Luisângelo Costa, Institutional Director of Natural Energia.

“Although there is this emission of carbon dioxide, it is important to highlight that this volume is a fraction of the emissions observed with deforestation in Brazil, for example, which currently reaches 2.4 billion tons of CO ₂ per year. We are talking about a much lower carbon emission than that of other fuels, such as coal, gasoline and diesel. UTE SP will not emit dust or other gases related to air pollution in cities. Another important fact is that the emission of greenhouse gases from the Brazilian electricity sector as a whole last year fell, which means that the sector has a very low impact in terms of emissions”, comments the director.

The UTE São Paulo project provides for mitigating measures within the Air Quality Monitoring Program. These actions include the installation of an air quality monitoring station in the region, in a location yet to be defined jointly with the environmental agency. The installation of the station aims to reinforce air monitoring in the region, which currently does not have a station of this type. Furthermore, the project provides for continuous monitoring at the emission source, ensuring compliance with the limits established in current environmental resolutions.

Datasheet

Name: São Paulo Energy Transition Plant

Location: Caçapava, São Paulo

Investment: R$5 billion

Installed Capacity: 1743.8 MW

Fuel: natural gas (may operate with biogas and hydrogen in the future)

Hiring: generation of more than 2,000 direct and indirect vacancies in construction and thousands during operation

Construction period: 42 months

Technology: state-of-the-art gas turbines

Efficiency: 43% in the case of a simple cycle (generation with gas turbine only) and 65% in the case of a combined cycle (generation with gas turbine and steam turbine)

Current stage: Proposing the project to obtain the preliminary license

After the License: After obtaining the prior environmental license, the project will be qualified to participate in the reserve auction that will be carried out by Aneel. If it manages to win the auction, the project will request an installation license and only after this is released will work begin