Solar source is featured in the A-5 New Energy Auction

A ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) and CCEE (Electric Energy Commercialization Chamber) concluded this Thursday (30) the New Energy Auction A-5. The highlight was the increase in the contracting of renewable sources, such as solar sources.

According to the Agency, 20 new photovoltaic plants were auctioned, totaling 236,40 MW of power and new private investments of more than R$901 million until 2026. The contracted solar projects are located in the Northeast and Southeast regions, in the states of Ceará (96,24 MW), Piauí (60 MW) and São Paulo (80,16 MW).

On average, 47% of the plants' electrical energy was allocated to distributors, in the ACR (Regulated Contracting Environment). The remainder will be sold in the ACL (Free Contracting Environment).

Read more: Interior boosts solar energy in São Paulo

Auction attracts R$3,067 billion

The event attracted investments of around R$3,067 billion. The resources will enable the construction of 40 plants, totaling 860,796 MW of power. In addition to the solar source, contracts for hydro, wind and thermal generation were negotiated using biomass and solid waste as fuel.

With a discount of 12,63% in relation to the initial price of R$ 191,00/MWh, the solar source reached an average electricity sales price of R$ 166,89/MWh (equivalent to US$ 30,90 /MWh). The average prices for wind were R$160,36/MWh, for biomass, R$271,26/MWh, and for solid waste, R$549,35/MWh.

This was the third new energy auction organized in 2021. On the buyer side, five distributors presented demand to acquire the energy offered by the participating plants: CELPA, CEMAR, CPFL Jaguari, CPFL Paulista and Light. With the agreements signed, they will be supplied by the contracted projects for up to 25 years, depending on the type of source. According to ANEEL, since the contracts were closed at a price below the nominal value, the savings obtained were R$ 1.269 billion.

“We consider the auction to have been very successful, given that all the demand declared by distributors was met,” highlighted André Patrus, executive manager of the Executive Secretariat of Auctions at ANEEL.

“The registration of projects by EPE (Energy Research Company) showed the interest of entrepreneurs in participating in the event and the level of competition. This offer will probably be reflected in good competition and good discounts in future auctions”, he concluded.

Rui Altieri, president of the CCEE Board of Directors, assessed the good performance of the event. “Specifically when contracting thermal plants, we achieved a discount of 25,68%, with the sale of energy from biomass plants. The result meets our objective of modernizing the Brazilian park and replacing more expensive plants with cheaper projects.”

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According to Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy), the results of the contest reinforce the competitiveness of solar energy, as well as signaling a direction for planning with this increase in participation in the amounts negotiated by the source.

“The contracted volume was, however, very low compared to the very high number of projects participating in the auction. This caused high competition among entrepreneurs, producing average prices below the reference for photovoltaic sources in Brazil, which demonstrates their high competitive capacity, even in times of macroeconomic turbulence”, he commented.

“The solar sector offered more than 800 projects, but the very small volume contracted from the source compared to this offer disappointed the market and investors. The opportunity is lost to give a clear end to the expansion of renewable energy in the country, especially photovoltaic energy, one of the most competitive”, added Sauaia.

For Anderson Concon, vice president of centralized generation at ABSOLAR, water scarcity further reinforces the strategic role of solar as part of the solution to diversify and strengthen the country's electricity supply, which is fundamental to the resumption of national economic growth.