Meeting on thermoelectric plant in Rio Grande ends without definition in Brasilia
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Negotiations to make the Rio Grande gas thermoelectric project viable took place this Wednesday (26) at a meeting at the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), in Brasília. Despite this, the meeting ended without a definition on the impasse in the implementation of the plant, which has been embargoed by the Agency since 2017, after delays in the works by the Bolognesi group. The entourage led by Governor Eduardo Leite, together with businessmen and other government representatives, discussed the matter alongside the directors of Aneel. Now, the agency says that the matter needs to be discussed in more depth with the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
According to the mayor of Rio Grande, Fábio Branco, who was present at the meeting, Aneel viewed “with good eyes” the new contract proposals suggested at the time for the implementation of the thermoelectric plant. “The meeting was good, but not conclusive. All arguments were discussed again. We spoke of the importance [do projeto], which we’ve done before. But there is a new discussion there, which would be the possibility of changing the contract model. The technical director is already analyzing it”, said Branco. According to the mayor of Rio Grande, however, there is still no deadline for Aneel’s response.
According to information published on the official website of the state government, the director of Aneel, Sandoval Feitosa, also said that the subject needs to be discussed in more depth, mainly with the Ministry of Mines and Energy. According to Feitosa, it is necessary to detail the energy demand in the country, which would collaborate with the reactivation of the project.
In order to proceed with the implementation of the thermoelectric plant, the investment needs Aneel to lift the embargo placed on the project, still in 2017. At the time, this decision was the result of a difficulty of the company previously responsible for the thermoelectric plant, the Bolognesi group, to start the works by account of the environmental licensing (the forecast was that the operations would take place in January 2019). The idea is for the group to transfer the rights to the venture to the company Cobra. The state government informed that it is working to resolve the impasse and has already granted, through the State Foundation for Environmental Protection (Fepam), the environmental licenses to make the investment possible.
If approved, the project could result in an investment of up to R$ 6 billion and meet about a third of the state’s energy demand, as the unit would have an installed capacity of 1,238,000 MW. Governor Eduardo Leite claims that the release of the gas thermoelectric plant would represent a victory and that it would bring a greater supply of energy to attract investment to the south of Rio Grande do Sul. “We consider it strategic for the state and, of course, especially for the southern region of the state. We are fighting hard to guarantee the conditions for implementing this plant”, ponders Leite.
In addition, the thermoelectric work will enable the operation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Rio Grande and, with this, expand the supply of energy in the south of the State and enable the attraction of industrial investments in the region. On that occasion, offshore wind energy exploration projects (with turbines located on the high seas or in lagoon areas) in Rio Grande do Sul were also on the agenda.
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