Last week, the CMSE (Electric Sector Monitoring Committee) authorized the activation of the Termonorte 1 and 2 thermoelectric plants, which together total just over 410 MW of power, to reinforce the supply of electricity in the states of Acre and Rondônia.
The decision was necessary due to the shutdown of the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant (3.150 MW), whose operation had to be interrupted due to the drought that reduced the flow of the Madeira River (RO) by half this year.
These thermoelectric plants have a much higher operating cost than hydroelectric and renewable plants, in addition to using diesel oil as fuel, which is extremely polluting as it emits greenhouse gases.
A ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) is working to regularize the operation of the two plants, which are under concession, uncontracted and do not have a connection contract with the transmission grid, according to an interview with the agency's general director, Sandoval Feitosa, to Valor Econômico. There is still no forecast for when the plants will start operating.
On the other hand, solar energy is expanding in the two northern states of the country, with more and more consumers looking to generate their own clean and renewable energy.
Survey made by Canal Solar, based on data from the ANEEL, points out that the number of photovoltaic systems in operation in Acre and Rondônia grew, respectively, 27,34% and 28,15% when comparing 2022 with the previous year.
Rondônia is the 22nd state in installed solar energy capacity in the ranking of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Solar Energy Association), with 247,3 MW of capacity. In total, there are 19.186 systems, and all 52 municipalities in Rondônia have at least one unit generating their own energy. From January to October, 4.311 systems were added, totaling 58,3 MW.
Acre occupies 25th position in the ranking, with 63 MW and 5.029 systems spread across 21 of the state's 22 municipalities. In 2023, 1.114 systems were added or 17,5 MW.
Own energy production has been growing throughout the North of the country, a region where tariff revisions by energy concessionaires have considerably increased the population's electricity bills.
In the North, there are 131.402 solar energy systems, totaling 1.564 MW. In 2022, 44.436 distributed generation units were installed, an increase of 63% compared to 2021. Until the beginning of October, 38.892 systems were installed in the region, totaling 476,9 MW, a power greater than that of the two diesel oil thermoelectric plants.
