The Ceará State Legislative Assembly (Alece) approved a bill establishing a state policy to encourage the implementation of battery energy storage systems, data centers, and data processing centers.
The proposal, submitted by the State Government on an urgent basis, received 22 votes in favor and six against, and now goes to Governor Elmano de Freitas (PT) for approval.
In addition to creating a specific framework for these projects, the legislation establishes new procedures for environmental licensing and seeks to offer greater predictability for investments in two segments considered strategic for the economic development of the State.
The initiative broadens the scope of the proposal originally submitted by the Executive branch, which dealt primarily with environmental licensing procedures.
With the approved version, the text establishes a state policy to encourage ventures, provides support instruments for investors, authorizes the granting of tax benefits in accordance with applicable legislation, and assigns to the SDE (Secretariat of Economic Development) the coordination of actions aimed at implementing these projects.
Classification by size
One of the main points of the new legislation is the creation of objective criteria to classify data centers and storage systems according to their installed capacity, a parameter that will serve as the basis for the environmental licensing process.
In the case of data centers, the projects are classified as:
- Micro-sized: when they have a power output of up to 20 MW;
- Small scale, above 20 MW and up to 50 MW;
- Medium-sized, above 50 MW and up to 100 MW;
- Large scale, above 100 MW and up to 500 MW;
- Exceptional size, when they exceed 500 MW of installed capacity.
The regulatory framework also classifies this activity as having a high pollution potential, due to the high consumption of electricity and the need for cooling systems.
For Battery Energy Storage Systems (BAESs), classification will be based on storage capacity. The following will be considered:
- Micro-scale projects: projects with up to 10 MWh;
- Small scale, above 10 MWh and up to 120 MWh;
- Medium-sized, above 120 MWh and up to 600 MWh;
- Large scale, above 600 MWh and up to 1.200 MWh;
- Exceptional size, those with a capacity exceeding 1.200 MWh.
Licensing according to the project.
The legislation also establishes distinct procedures for environmental licensing. In battery projects, small-scale ventures may obtain a license in a single step.
Medium and large-sized businesses will have to complete two phases — Preliminary License (LP) and Installation and Operation License (LIO) —, while those classified as exceptional will go through three stages: Preliminary License, Installation License, and Operation License.
For data centers, the model will be similar, but small and medium-sized projects will follow a two-stage process, while large and exceptional projects will depend on the three traditional licenses.
Another innovation is the definition of the required environmental studies according to the size of the project, in addition to the provision of specific fire safety standards for storage systems and the possibility of using public areas near substations and transmission facilities for the implementation of battery projects, through the instruments provided for in state legislation.
During its passage through the legislative process, the bill received 11 amendments. Only one was incorporated into the text, stipulating that data centers classified as medium, large, and exceptional must maintain permanent environmental monitoring and provide updated information on their performance in this area.
Competition
The approval of the new legislation comes at a time of intensified competition between states, mainly in the Northeast, to attract large investments in digital infrastructure and energy storage.
According to the Ceará state government, the policy aims to encourage the decentralization of data centers to the interior of the state, supported by the infrastructure of the Ceará Digital Belt, which has approximately 5.955 km of fiber optic network.
Among the ongoing projects is the complex announced by OMNIA Data Centers in partnership with ByteDance, the parent company of... TikTok, planned for the Pecém Complex, with an estimated investment of US$ 37,7 billion (approximately R$ 200 billion) and a capacity of 200 MW of information technology, using renewable energy supplied by Casa dos Ventos.
The initiative also comes amid discussions about the national policy to incentivize data centers, known as Redata.
While the federal program is still awaiting definition, Ceará is seeking to structure its own regulatory environment to increase its competitiveness in attracting projects intensive in digital infrastructure and energy consumption, competing with other states interested in hosting these investments.
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