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The MME proposal also provides for the modernization of the generating complex, with the replacement of thermoelectric plants that are already deactivated or in the final stage of their useful life.
Yesterday, Monday (09/08), the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) approved the details of the Program for the Sustainable Use of National Mineral Coal. The proposal involves the modernization of the coal-fired generating complex in the south of the country, through the contracting of energy from thermoelectric plants that will replace plants that are already deactivated and those that are at the end of their useful life and should be dismantled in the coming years. Check out this news: Even in the face of a water crisis, MME informs that there is no risk of energy rationing in 2021
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Details on the program that extends the use of coal-fired power plants
According to the MME, the Program that extends the use of coal in Brazil could mean investments of around R$ 20 billion over the next 10 years, but it will not be able to count, for example, on the support of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), which no longer finances polluting fuels.
The Program proposes the replacement of old coal-fired thermoelectric plants with more modern ones, and the end of the subsidy for the source via the Energy Development Account (CDE) is also foreseen in 2027. Concentrated in the South of the country, a region that has 99,9% of the country's coal reserves, coal mines have an electrical supply potential of 18.600 MW over 100 years, according to the MME.
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The purpose of the MME program
The objective of the Program, according to the MME, is to take advantage of existing reserves in more modern and less polluting projects, while there is still time, as the whole world moves towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2 ). However, the way to contract this energy was not defined in the program, but it is possible that a specific product for coal will be included in energy auctions, and inclusion in capacity reserve auctions.
According to the MME, the form and price of the coal auction are yet to be evaluated. “The proposed contracting of electricity must observe certain conditions and assumptions: establish a minimum requirement for electricity generation efficiency; absence of burden for the State and the non-granting of new subsidies to mineral coal or the extension of existing ones”, explains the program, also highlighting the adoption of environmentally appropriate technologies in the activity of mining and use of coal (including in terms of recovery environment with the burning of waste).
See also this news: Expenses with thermoelectric plants rise from BRL 9 billion to BRL 13 billion according to MME, due to the water crisis
According to an estimate made by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), based on simulations by the National Electric System Operator (ONS), the increased use of thermoelectric plants, caused by the water crisis scenario, will cost consumers BRL 13,1 billion this year, compared to the previous estimate, informed in June, which predicted a cost of BRL 9 billion.
Such calculation used in the MME estimate is based on simulations by the National Electric System Operator (ONS), considering the additional use of thermoelectric plants between the months of January and November of this year. The increase in the cost of power generation is passed on to consumers through the tariff flag, an extra fee applied to the electricity bill.
The MME and the Chamber of Commercialization of Electric Energy (CCEE) informed the G1 that such actions adopted by the government are to preserve the water in the reservoirs of the hydroelectric plants, leading to the activation of more thermoelectric plants, guaranteeing the supply of energy. With the activation, the estimated cost of using thermal energy throughout this year went from R$ 9 billion to R$ 13,1 billion, an increase of 45%.
