The recognition of the importance of DG (distributed generation) in the Brazilian electricity matrix and the search for a consensus between energy distributors and entities linked to the renewable sources sector were the main highlights discussed by experts from the regulatory market during the webinar “Understanding the distributed generation and regulatory perspectives”.
The event, promoted on Thursday (13) by the Special Commission on Energy Law of the OAB/SP (Brazilian Bar Association), welcomed speakers Guilherme Susteras, managing partner of Sun Mobi; José Marangon, CEO of Marangon Consultoria e Engenharia; Virgínia Parente, postgraduate professor in energy at USP (University of the State of São Paulo), and Wagner Ferreira, legal and institutional director at Abradee (Brazilian Association of Electric Energy Distributors).
The debate took place virtually and was moderated by the president of the OAB/SP Energy Law Commission, Maria João Rolim, and the participation of André Soares de Freitas Bueno, member of the Energy Commission.
According to experts, there is a clear need for distributors to participate in the so-called energy transition, given the sharp growth of renewables across the planet. “The largest share of consumption in Brazil, if we look at all primary sources, is non-renewable fuels” explained Virgínia Parente.
For the USP professor, conditions need to be made viable so that other renewable sources can become competitive in the medium and long term. “We are renewable in generating electrical energy thanks to large-scale hydroelectricity and contributions from wind and solar energy,” she says. “We need to have this vision of enabling and not hindering this growth”, she highlighted.
For Wagner Ferreira, distributors need to worry about integration and not about buying and selling energy. “We need to move transparently towards what will be the (energy) model in five or ten years and we have to make changes to achieve this. The compensation model needs a discussion about its provisionality, because it advocates against the ideal model, which is open, where we have energy on one side and infrastructure on the other”, highlighted the director of Abradee.
José Marangon, in turn, highlighted that, just like photovoltaic energy, battery storage is already a reality in many countries and, inevitably, it will be in Brazil. “They are falling in price very quickly and will fall more than solar prices did. This means that distributors have to be careful, because evasion (from the Grid system) will be very high. What will distributors have to do? Integrate distributed resources”, he pointed out.
“The virtual battery today, I would say, doesn’t have to charge anything, because we are going through a period of pre-rationing. We no longer have water in the reservoirs, because climate change has hit and we are trying to solve the problem by reducing CO₂ emissions. But there's no turning back. Looking at climate models, this dry summer will last for many years. In other words, we will need energy and, if there is no renewable production, we will be shooting ourselves in the foot”, stressed Marangon.
During the event, the speaker also questioned the costs charged by distributors to solar DG consumers, considering that many residents benefit from the energy produced by nearby consumers and not from plants, such as Itaipu. “If I'm in a place that has a lot of residences and a lot of load nearby, I'll be benefiting the system,” he said.
A Energy transition is the concept that involves structural changes in countries' energy matrices, migrating from a model largely based on fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, to a matrix focused on energy generation through energy generation from renewable sources , including solar, wind and biomass.
This is a concept that is already being implemented around the world and its objectives are to preserve the environment and promote energy efficiency among companies, citizens and institutions, in order to optimize the use of goods and services.
