New Hampshire, USA --
Brazil's latest A-3 auction, matching up developers and power
purchasers to prepare renewable energy projects to meet the nation's
electricity demand by 2016, was a landslide win for wind energy -- but a
shutout for solar, which was included in the process for the first
time.
More than 58 million MWh were sold
for a total of U.S. $7.2 billion, according to the National Electric
Energy Agency (ANEEL). An extra feature of the A-3 auction: developers
are responsible for hooking their projects to the grid. The pool of qualified participants
had included 429 projects exceeding 10.4 GW, the vast majority of which
were wind (381 projects totaling over 9.1 GW) but also some solar PV
(31 projects, 813 MW capacity) and some small hydro and biomass.
The overwhelming winners were wind energy developers, who saw 39 wind
projects approved totaling 867 MW of capacity, nearly half of them in
the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Two-thirds of those purchases
were backed by Electrobras subsidiaries Electrosul and Furnas. By the end of this year, Brazil could end up auctioning a record 3 GW of wind.
On the downside, no bids were offered for any solar PV projects, which had been included for the first time.
The low pricing (average 124.43 Brazilian reais/MWh, just under the
ceiling price of R 126/MWh) had been roundly expected to be too low for
solar projects which currently cost more than R 200/MWh. Two
solar-friendlier alternatives reportedly are being explored: reducing the price of power on the market, or conduct solar-only auctions with a more applicable pricing structure.
IN THE NEWS
Chilean Solar Plant Updates:
SunEdison has closed $100.4 million in debt financing for its proposed
50.7 MWp; San Andres solar plant in Chile, said to become the largest
merchant solar plant in Latin America when it comes online in early
2014. Lenders include the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC,
$62.9 million), the IFC
($37.5 million), and Rabobank via a Chilean Peso VAT facility
equivalent to $25.6 million. Also getting financing help from IFC and
others is Saferay to help expand its solar PV plant in La Huayca, Northern Chile from current 1.4 MW to 30 MW. Meanwhile, solar project proposals filed for Chile's Atacama desert include SunEdison's proposed $160 million 80-MW Javiera solar project and a pair of 90-100 MW plants proposed by AustrianSolar totaling $380 million in investments.
IFC Mulling Support for Enel's Big Brazil Wind Plans:
At its December 12 board meeting, the International Finance Corp. (IFC)
will examine whether to provide up to $200 million in loans, plus
possibly arrange another $220 million
in bank financing, for Enel Green Power's proposed $600 million plans
for 12 wind projects totaling 342 MW in Brazil: roughly 206 MW in Bahia
state, 80 MW in Pernambuco, and 56 MW in Rio Grande do Norte.
Canada's Brookfield Investing in South America:
Brookfield Asset Management's $7 billion Brookfield Infrastructure Fund
II program, which closed at the end of October with over 60 investors
(and $2.8 billion of the company's own money), is roughly 40 percent
committed to projects in North America, but some of those funds will
head to hydro and wind projects in South America. "We like the
investment attributes" there, and Brazil's renewable energy industry is
"one we know well and in which we can make future investments," Sam
Pollock, CEO of Brookfield's infrastructure group, told Bloomberg.
ERB, Dow Team for Brazilian Sugarcane Biomass:
Energias Renovaveis do Brasil and Dow Chemical are partnering for a
46-MW, R237 million sugarcane biomass plant at a Dow ethanol facility in
Minas Gerais, expected to begin operations next year. The two
previously teamed up for a R$210 million cogeneration project in the Bahia state.
IDB Backs Uruguayan Wind Project:
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $132 million
loan to partly finance construction of the Carapé I and II wind farms in
in the Sierra de Carapé, north of San Carlos in the Maldonado region.
The combined 90-MW project using 31 Vestas turbines would generate
approximately 364,700 MWh/year, and incorporate a 40-km 150-kV
transmission line.
"White Gold" from Brazil's Yellow Sun:
Energy Team Brasil plans to build a 40-MW rooftop solar PV array at a
dairy farm in Rio Grande do Sul, online by the end of next year, said to
be the region's first such agricultural application for solar PV. About
three-quarters of available rooftop space will be used for the "Noa
Ouro Branco" deployment; 30 MW is promised to be sent to the grid
another 10 MW will be off-grid for on-site use.
Solar Partnership in Puerto Rico:
Schneider Electric and Fonroche have agreed to develop a 40-MW solar
field in Humacao, promised to be the Commonwealth's largest plant upon
completion.
70-MW Solar PV Plant Coming to Argentina: Schmid and M+W, with state energy supplier Energia Provincial Sociedad del Estrado (EPSE), have committed to design and build
a 70-MW solar PV production facility in San Juan to produce
monocrystalline silicon ingots through glass/foil modules starting in
mid-2015, targeting use in the region's gold and copper mines and
irrigation systems. A second phase will expand into upstream polysilicon
manufacturing.
A DEEPER LOOK
The Untapped Potential of South American Geothermal:
South America holds great potential for geothermal energy, but barriers
to development have kept it largely unrealized. However some private
investors and development banks are on the cusp of unlocking the
abundant energy source. Our own Meg Cichon takes a closer look at this
"open frontier" for geothermal energy development here on this lower end
of the Ring of Fire horseshoe.
Tracking Latin America's Clean Energy Investment Climate:
Latin America and the Caribbean captured six percent of the total $268
billion invested worldwide in clean energy in 2012, slightly more than
the year before, thanks to strengthened government policy support and
expanding supply chains, according to Climatescope 2013, a report from
the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance
(BNEF). Their interactive deep-dive and infographics illustrate where
each nation stands in four key areas: enabling framework, clean energy
investment and climate financing, low-carbon business and clean energy
value chains, and greenhouse gas management activities. Among the
study's encouraging data points: retail power prices remain generally
high across the region which makes deployment of renewables more
attractive, and nearly all of identified "value chain" links are filled.
There are 927 carbon offset projects across the region, more than half
of which are for power generation. And eight countries now have net
metering laws.
ON THE HORIZON
Latin American Wind Capacity Doubling in a Decade:
Latin America is the hottest growth market for wind energy, and
installed capacity will roughly double by 2022 to 4.3 GW, according to a
report from Navigant Consulting. Policy and macroeconomic challenges
are slowing wind energy adoption in other regions, but Latin America
will account for nearly 6 percent of global new wind power installations
this year alone, and will "exhibit double-digit compound annual growth
rates through the next 10 years," according to research director Feng
Zhao. Brazil's latest wind power auctions led to 1.5 GW of new wind
capacity and helped stabilize higher prices, he noted, and will provide
the foundation for wind energy growth in the entire region.
Pricing Hydro Bids for Brazil's A-5 Auction:
The second A-5 auction to be held Dec. 13 has been approved,
contracting for renewable energy projects coming online in mid-2018.
They include several hydropower projects bigger than 50 MW and priced at
around $107-$139/MWh, with smaller ones priced at R 144/MWh.
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http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/11/latin-america-report-wind-sweeps-brazils-a-3-power-auctions-whither-solar
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