Associations defend greater participation of small hydroelectric plants in the national electricity matrix

Playing a more relevant role among Brazil’s energy sources is the goal of Small Hydroelectric Power Plants (PCHs) and Hydroelectric Generating Centers (CGHs), plants with up to 30 MW of installed capacity. Within this context, the Brazilian Association of PCHs and CGHs (Abrapch) sent a letter to the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, proposing the revision of the Ten Year Energy Expansion Plan (PDE) 2031 and the creation of a Priority Program for Small Hydroelectric Power Plants Environmentally Sustainable.

The PDE indicates the prospects for expansion of the energy sector for the next ten years and that document contains the projection of an increase in the generation of PCHs and CGHs in the order of 3.3 thousand MW. The president of Abrapch, Alessandra Torres de Carvalho, considers that this number should be higher. “The PCHs can contribute with more than is foreseen”, says the director. According to her, it would be possible to deliver more than twice that power.

Currently, according to data from the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), Brazil has around 6,500 MW of installed capacity from PCHs and CGHs, which represents approximately 3.4% of the total of all sources that make up the national electricity matrix. According to information from Abrapch, in the last five years, 65 PCHs and 52 CGHs started operating in Brazil, totaling 938.81 MW of installed capacity. In all, the 117 plants generated an investment of R$ 7.9 billion. In addition, around 110 PCHs and CGHs are under construction or awaiting licensing.

To help make all this potential viable, Alessandra suggests that the federal government create a support program for PCHs. One possibility to encourage the segment is to contract a determined volume of energy generation from these plants in capacity reserve auctions, which have the objective of guaranteeing the continuity of the supply of electric energy, allowing consumers to be served at any time.

The president of Abrapch argues that the PCHs, with their reservoirs, are able to store water and produce energy during peak consumption hours or when there is no wind or sun to feed the wind and solar plants. The leader emphasizes that all these sources are complementary, but today there is a kind of “demonization” of the reservoirs. She argues that it is necessary to demystify this issue and “put on the balance” the benefits of PCHs such as, for example, a useful life of several decades. “SHPs and CGHs are the true natural batteries of the electricity sector”, compares Alessandra.

The president of the Associação Gaúcha de Fomento à PCHs (AGPCH), Roberto Zuch, adds that the function of the entities that represent the segment is to demonstrate to society the advantages that these plants bring to the electrical system and to consumers. He points out that the sources being added to the electrical system are not representing a lower electricity bill. “The (energy) auctions are not reflecting tariff affordability for the final consumer”, points out Zuch.

The leader explains that when intermittent sources, such as solar and wind, are contracted to supply the national electrical system, it is also necessary to contract generation from plants that do not have their operation interrupted due to climate fluctuations. However, points out the president of the AGPCH, instead of focusing on the use of hydroelectric plants with reservoirs, thermal plants that use fossil fuel are being contracted. Zuch emphasizes that greater use of PCHs and CGHs would represent cheaper and cleaner production than thermoelectric plants.