The new thermoelectric plant of Imetame UTE Prosperidade III, located in Camaçari, Bahia, will be 100% powered by natural gas

Owner of UTE Prosperidade III, Imetame will have the first carbon neutral thermoelectric plant in Brazil. With 50 MW, located in Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, the thermoelectric plant will start operating in the second half of next year and will receive an initial contribution of R$ 180 million.

• Registration is open for a free electrician course in the state of Espírito Santo
• A sum of R$ 1,5 billion is approved for the largest mining project in Mato Grosso. Around 2.350 job openings will be generated
• Uber will start making electric cars and bring new concepts in transport vehicles
• ENGIE solution replaces diesel fueling planes with renewable energy at Brasília Airport
• Minas Gerais develops organic and transparent solar energy panel

Imetame's thermal power plant

The thermoelectric plant located in Camaçari, Bahia, will be built by Imetame and will have a structure 100% powered by natural gas. Initially, the thermoelectric plant would use eucalyptus biomass in the state of Minas Gerais, but the project would be based on another entrepreneur, who ended up leaving the project.

The company Mercurio Partners made possible the first natural gas thermoelectric plant to zero carbon emissions in the country and originated the opportunity for the project, initially designed to be a biomass plant. The company will conduct the adaptation process to keep the natural gas UTE within the current regulations.

Switching from biomass to natural gas at the Imetame UTE in Bahia

Alexandre Americano, director of Mercurio Partners, says that the change would be a bit complex, as it would change several technical characteristics of the project that would be installed in Minas Gerais. The director points out that he changed from boiler to rotor, fuel and location, which demanded conversations with the ANP and ANEEL, in addition to the EPE.

In conversations with the Energy Research Company, a big question arose about the change of fuel in the thermoelectric plant, since the new one could not have a worse environmental performance than the previous one, if the burning of natural gas was worse than the burning of biomass. As a result, a greenhouse gas compensation plan was presented, following the GHG Protocol methodology.

According to the director of Mercurio Partners, the great challenge of the project was to define how to calculate the offset tons, as this had never been done before. Initially, this increase is an additional risk associated with the plant's equation with respect to this obligation. However, Imetame's thermoelectric plant in Bahia has the opportunity to obtain more competitive and easier financing. He also pointed out that this is a novelty that is currently not only sought after by financiers, but also by potential investors in the market.

Contributions made to the thermoelectric plant

The thermoelectric plant will be built in Camaçari, in the state of Bahia, and will initially receive an investment of R$ 180 million for the project. The initial forecast is that the plant will start operating in the second half of 2022.

Gilson Pereira, executive director of Imetame, says that “the new thermoelectric plant in Bahia will be composed of a combination of three types of plants, however the other two previous plants were contracted through energy auctions. All the plant models used for the Imetame project idea are part of the so-called “gas-to-wire” model, being close to the Imetame gas wells in the Recôncavo Baiano”.