First energy capacity reserve auction held in Brazil may be annulled due to competition under unequal conditions

After some obstacles that arose with the participation of 7 plants by STJ injunctions, a dispute was alleged under unequal conditions

Held in December 2021 by Aneel and the Electric Energy Trading Chamber (CCEE), the 1st capacity reserve auction ended with 17 winning plants and the contracting of 4,6 GW of power at a cost of BRL 57,3 billion. 

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However, an obstacle that arose was the participation of 7 plants through injunctions granted by the STJ. These decisions allowed these projects to participate in the auction with a shipping cost above R$ 600/MWh, which was prohibited in the public notice. 

Alexandre Aroeira Salles, PhD in Law and founding partner of Aroeira Salles, comments: “The Public Notice provides that, in the case of revocation or annulment of the Award of a Bidder, Aneel may invite another bidder, successively and according to the ascending order of the values of bids. Similarly, if a bidder is disqualified, the successor will be called upon to present its qualification documents and, if qualified, will be awarded under the conditions of its proposal”.

About the participations by STJ injunctions, Aroeira Salles adds: “If the STJ injunction is not confirmed definitively, there may be a scenario in which: (i) in case the adjudication has already taken place, Aneel will have the option of invite the successor bidder; and (ii) if the award has not yet been awarded and the bidder is disqualified due to the non-confirmation of the STJ preliminary injunction, the second best placed will be called to qualify, consequently, be awarded under the terms of its proposal”.

“Nevertheless, it is important to note that the notice also provides for the possibility for Aneel to revoke the auction if it is considered inopportune or inconvenient to the public interest, without resulting in the right to any reimbursement or compensation (item 18.1.1)”, he concludes. the jurist.

Awarded by the trade winds, Ceará could become the Saudi Arabia of Green Hydrogen at the lowest global cost

According to Bloomberg NewEnergy Finance, as long as current regulations are met, Ceará could become the Saudi Arabia of Green Hydrogen at the lowest overall cost. The existing legal norms are “fully applicable” to other energy generation projects by the force of the winds in the ocean, as recently stated by the majority shareholder and CEO of Eólica Brasil Ltda, which developed the project for the first offshore wind farm in the Brazil — the Asa Branca, located within the sea of ​​the Ceará municipalities of Amontada, Itarema and Acaraú, in an interview with Diário do Nordeste.

The executive, who is also president of Abemar (Associação Brasileira de Eólicas Marítimas), reveals in the interview that it is necessary to “demystify the false legal uncertainty for offshore wind farms, given that the existing general rules are fully applicable, and were applied to the wind farm Asa Branca Maritime Wind, from my company, in Ceará”.

(The Asa Branca wind farm project, under analysis at Ibama, provides for the installation of 10 modules, each with 72 15 MW turbines, which will be supplied by Vestas, which already manufactures them in Denmark, or by GE or Siemens. , which certainly, at the time of the implementation of the project, will also be manufacturing them). Read the full story here.