The first thermal power plant in Brazil powered by stumps and roots works inside the pulp mill complex of Eldorado Brasil

The leading pulp producer Eldorado Brasil started, on April 09th, the operation of the first thermoelectric plant powered by eucalyptus stumps and roots in Brazil. The unit is located in Mato Grosso do Sul and was named Onça Pintada. The plant received investments of approximately R$ 400 million and will have the capacity to generate 432 thousand MegaWatts of energy per year.

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The new plant operates within the pulp mill complex of Eldorado Brasil, in Três Lagoas, a city located 338 kilometers from the capital.

The raw material used in the production of energy comes from the biomass of trees harvested for the manufacture of cellulose at the Eldorado plant.

“This is an absolutely innovative project with the capacity to promote renewal in the Brazilian forest sector, implying investments and the creation of thousands of jobs throughout the country”, evaluates Carlos Monteiro, industrial director of Eldorado Brasil. “With the activation of the plant, Eldorado Brasil now has a cycle of 100% use of eucalyptus, which it plants itself, and reiterates its role of excellence in the green economy”, he concludes.

The leader in pulp production Eldorado Brasil is already self-sufficient from an energy point of view

Eldorado Brasil uses waste from the pulp manufacturing process as a source of energy to supply its industrial park, making the company self-sufficient from an energy point of view.

The new thermoelectric plant in Brazil, powered by stumps and roots, now offers 100% clean and sustainable electricity to the national electricity system, via ACR (Regulated Contracting Environment), in a contract managed by the ONS (National Electric System Operator).

Eldorado Brasil has been carrying out since March, under the supervision of the environmental authorities and the electricity sector, the tests for approval of the project and obtaining the license to start the operation.

The tests were completed this week, attesting to the proper functioning of the turbine, boiler and other equipment involved in the operation. The enterprise received the Operation License, issued by Imasul (Environmental Institute of Mato Grosso do Sul), valid for four years.

Direct sale of ethanol from plants will stimulate competition and curb the increase in gasoline prices at gas stations

In order to try to curb the increase in the price of gasoline and diesel at gas stations, the Draft Legislative Decree (PDC 916/2018), which deals with the direct sale of ethanol by plants – without going through distributors, gained steam in recent weeks with support from the Government.

The director general of the ANP, Rodolfo Saboia, stated that the creation of the so-called tied distributor – a regulatory alternative to enable the sale of ethanol by mill owners directly to gas stations – was delayed due to the delay on the part of the Ministry of Economy in presenting a tax solution.

There are estimates that the concentration of production and distribution margins in the producer and increased competition between mill owners and distributors in the supply of fuel in the market could reduce, by up to 20 cents per liter, the prices of hydrous ethanol for the final consumer.

Raízen, from the Shell Group, wants to build three plants producing ethanol made from sugarcane bagasse and straw

Raízen, the giant global producer of ethanol together with Shell, intends to build three more cellulosic ethanol plants – or second generation. The good news was announced by businessman Rubens Ometto, from Cosan, last Monday (15/03). 

The technology for producing cellulosic ethanol emerged from a partnership between Shell and the Canadian company Logen, specialized in biotechnology. In the past harvest (2019/20), the Piracicaba unit produced 226 liters of ethanol for each ton of dry biomass.