RJ: blessed by nature to renew your energy sources

Although the State of Rio de Janeiro, over the last few decades, has established itself in the O&G (Oil and Gas) industry, and this industry still represents strategic importance for the economy of Rio de Janeiro, the time has come to think about change.

We are dealing with finite reserves, faced with a global call: the energy transition is underway, going from strength to strength.

As a sign that the new market focused on clean energy is flourishing and is already attracting attention, we have some examples of companies in the O&G sector investing in renewable sources, with acquisitions of assets in this segment (Equinor / Rio Energy, Total Energies / Casa dos Ventos, Shell / Prime Energia).

And this is not limited to a primer on ESG practices. These companies have identified a promising market where they have not yet consolidated their participation.

And they are fully aware that they will be faced with a strategic impasse in 15 years, if they do not take advantage of the opportunities to embark on a diversification strategy in renewable energy now.

Even if new exploration areas emerge, it is a fact that the reserves in these fields are also finite and exploration costs are increasingly high. This is the starting point for this shift in the use of fossil to renewable energy.

And what is being done towards this transition in the State of Rio de Janeiro?

The history of its economic situation prevented the State from positioning itself strategically, in sectors that, over the next 25 years, will be the engine of economic growth.

Due to the fiscal deficit status, until last year, the State of Rio de Janeiro was prevented from granting long-term tax incentives such as ICMS exemption for the purchase of solar panels, for example, essential for the competitiveness of the solar sector it installed. in our country more than 33GW by the end of August 2023.

We understand that it is a strategic option for the State of Rio de Janeiro to position itself by saying that there are no resources in the short term to support solar energy. But other states have a different view.

Minas Gerais, for example, where the insolation rate is one of the lowest in the country, created ICMS incentives from the beginning for the segment and, today, has the second largest installed solar DG capacity in the country with 3.1GW (13 .4% of the total) just after the state of São Paulo.

The State of Rio de Janeiro is blessed by nature in terms of the presence of renewable sources. We go out into the open air in the capital of Rio de Janeiro and see the beach, the sea, we feel the strong wind.

It is surprising that Rio de Janeiro is only ranked 10th in the ranking of states (installed power of 852 MW) in DG (Distributed Generation) of solar energy, according to data released by ABSOLAR (Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy). ).

The State of Rio is just one example. There is a fierce dispute between the states of the Federation to attract foreign investment, specifically in a context of geopolitical redistribution on a global scale.

The states of the Northeast, for example, after taking advantage of the good winds and the growth of on-shore wind energy, are now taking a position on the issues of green hydrogen and offshore wind.

Each state has its own competitive advantage and must make the most of it. In addition to the abundance of solar incidence, the potential for offshore wind farms here is significant. There is also a strong productive sector that can use energy retrofit projects as a key to green reindustrialization and industrial competitiveness.

Finally, we are absolutely certain that Brazil in general, and the state of Rio de Janeiro in particular, has all the advantages to assume a greater leading role with regard to the energy transition, even more so at a time when our wonderful city of São Sebastiao de Rio de Janeiro will host the G-20 summit and the Energy Summit in 2024, a sign that the eyes of the world will once again be focused here, attentive to our political and strategic directions .

The opinions and information expressed are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of Canal Solar.