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Brazilian offshore wind energy at risk? Amendments favor thermal power plants in Senate Bill. Learn more about the legal framework and how it could impact millions of consumers.
The Senate returned to analyze last Tuesday (26), the Bill of Law of the proposed legal framework for offshore wind power, where amendments favor thermal power plants and may harm the generation of electricity on offshore platforms. The Brazilian offshore wind power bill was included on the agenda of the Infrastructure Services Commission meeting and, if approved in its current version, will impose a billion-dollar cost on the country's electricity consumers.
Understand the impacts and why amendments favor thermal power plants
The matter, which was on the agenda of the Senate Infrastructure Services Committee, was withdrawn for reexamination due to the inclusion of numerous parliamentary amendments, considered “jabuticabas” by experts. These amendments favor thermal power plants and, unrelated to the central theme of the proposal, foresee the allocation of billions of reais for the contracting of gas-fired thermal plants and the extension of contracts for coal-fired plants.
The movement in Congress has put members of the Brazilian offshore wind energy sector on alert. They considered the debate on the new legislation important for the country, but now they classify it as a bomb that will affect consumers of all sizes.
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The billion-dollar expenditure for the Brazilian offshore wind energy sector was estimated last year by PSR, one of the most respected consultancies. In a technical analysis, they indicated that consumers will be burdened by R$25 billion per year until 2050, an increase of 11% on the electricity bill.
The PSR calculation considers the impact of the so-called “jabutis”, parliamentary amendments that have no direct relation to the original text of the Brazilian offshore wind energy bill.
Amendments favor thermal power plants and industry experts speak out
In the Senate, the bill for the Brazilian offshore wind energy sector is being reported by Senator Weverton de Sousa (PDT-MA). Members of the sector believe that there is a chance that the current text will be approved by the committee and will be voted on in the plenary soon.
The amendments favor thermal power plants and criticism comes from several industry experts linked to independent entities, consultancies and institutes. For them, the National Congress overshadows the potential of Brazilian offshore wind energy in this new market and the positive aspects of the new legislation, which tend to attract new investors to the country.
If the current text is approved, the legal framework will create expenses for energy consumers through a set of benefits addressed to specific business groups operating within the electricity sector. The amendments favor thermal power plants and guarantee an additional 36-month period for owners of renewable energy projects who have accessed subsidies whose access period has expired.
Can text still be changed?
O Senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), rapporteur of the legal framework, signaled to interlocutors that he plans to adjust the wording of the project to facilitate a presidential veto of the jabutis inserted in the Chamber.
The INFRA Agency states that the Senator does not currently see a scenario in the House in which he can get support to clean up the text and remove all topics unrelated to the main objective of the matter. The decision to keep the jabutis or not would be in the hands of the federal government, through a presidential veto.
The amendments favor thermal power plants and the most controversial ones are present in articles 21 to 24. The idea studied by the parliamentarian would be to separate some measures that are in the same paragraph, so that the Executive Branch has the option of cutting only parts of the text. However, the parliamentarians are already working on an agreement to overturn possible vetoes, according to sources.
