© Reuters. Electricity transmission towers in Pará 03/30/2010 – Reuters/Paulo Santos
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Expanding Brazil’s electricity transmission network will require investments of 56.2 billion reais in new lines and substations and reinforcements and improvements to existing projects, according to calculations by energy research firm EPE.
Of the total contributions expected in the study, which supports the decisions of the Ministry of Mines and Energy for this sector, R$ 37.8 billion should be invested in transmission lines, with the network expansion estimated at 14.6 thousand km.
18.4 billion riyals are already linked to investments in substations, with an expected expansion of 75.9 thousand megavolt amperes (MVA).
The EPE work includes energy transmission works that are essential for the Brazilian system until 2029 and other works indicated from 2030 onwards that could be re-evaluated in the following planning cycles.
Of the investments amounting to 56.2 billion riyals, 81% of it must be applied to projects that will be proposed by the government. According to EPE, projects worth 24.7 billion riyals are expected to be contracted in transport auctions scheduled for this year, while 21.0 billion riyals are expected to be put up for tender from 2025 onwards.
The government has already scheduled a transport auction for March this year, with projects expected to require investments worth R$18.2 billion to implement. There is no specification yet for the projects that could be put up for a second tender in 2024.
Brazil has put out bids for a large number of power transmission projects to expand the national grid and allow more renewable energy generation to be integrated into the matrix without bottlenecks in its use.
In last year’s competition, about R$37.5 billion were contracted in projects mainly aimed at expanding the transmission capacity of wind and solar energy generated in the Northeast to consumption centers in the Southeast and South.
In addition to the tenders, EPE calculated that investments worth another 10.5 billion riyals will be made in the coming years on the basis of licensing. Senders can make enhancements and improvements to their lines based on licenses from the regulatory agency Aneel.
(Written by Leticia Fukushima)