The majority presence of energy from hydraulic sources in the Brazilian energy matrix guarantees the country a prominent position among those capable of leading a global energy transition. Today at 53%, hydroelectric plants already account for 90%.
For sector experts, politicians and sectoral representatives who participated in panels on energy transition and the future of energy at Imersão Indústria, a meeting organized by Fiemg (Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais), in Belo Horizonte, the reduction is a mistake and part of a misreading of the impact of hydroelectric plants.
“The demonization of hydroelectric power plants in Brazil has made our matrix dirty,” said Flávio Roscoe, president of Fiemg, for whom there is a need to change environmental legislation that, according to him, would have made the construction of new hydroelectric power plants unfeasible.
“The problem is the legislation that prevents, which made the construction of a hydroelectric plant prohibitive. Nobody stopped doing it because they wanted to. Making thermoelectric plants is very easy. You build a building, add diesel oil, turn on the boiler, burn it, emit millions of CO2, but you have an immediate license,” he said.
On the other hand, according to the director of the industry entity, “to build a lake, you go through 20 years of ordeal to obtain a license and produce energy from a clean source”.
For Edvaldo Santana, former director of Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency), it is necessary to defend the construction of hydroelectric plants with reservoirs to guarantee the sustainability of the electrical system.
Despite the increase in the participation of other sources in the Brazilian electricity matrix, mainly wind, he says that without hydroelectric power, there will be a lack of energy, and political decisions such as the provisional measure by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government on the 9th could worsen the situation.
On the day he spoke at the Fiemg event (Friday, 12), Santana gave the following examples: between 3 pm and 5:30 pm there were 28 gigawatts of solar energy operating which, after the end of the afternoon, dropped to zero. “What replaces all of this today are the hydroelectric plants.”
He calculates that in 2029 there would be 50 gigawatts of solar in the same interval and that they would have to be replaced in that short space of time. “It’s extremely difficult to operate a system like this.”
With last week’s provisional measure, Santana calculates that, from 50 solar gigawatts, the volume to be replaced would jump to 80 gigawatts. “If there is no hydroelectric plant, as there cannot be a lack of energy, there will have to be a thermoelectric plant and I think there should not be any more thermoelectric plants,” he said.
The defense of hydroelectric plants, for the technician, is reasonable and very sustainable. “We say that our matrix is the cleanest. And it is actually one of the cleanest in the world. And those who determine all of this are the hydroelectric plants. And hydroelectric dams can’t be built anymore, so that’s kind of contradictory,” he said.
During the panel, the former director of Aneel also criticized what he considers to be a succession of political decisions taken without the participation of the electricity sector.
One of these cases was the inclusion of “jabutis” in the MP for the privatization of Eletrobras that provided for the construction of gas-fired thermal plants, which would have to operate for 70% of the time and with a mandatory volume of 8,000 megawatts.
“Luckily for us, [as térmicas] they’re not working,” he said. “That didn’t come from the electricity sector, it came from Congress. It was neither the planner, nor the operator, nor Aneel.”
Santana asked entities like Fiemg to act to avoid new tortoises and measures that put even more pressure on the cost of energy, with the most recent MP.
Fernando Teixeirense, director of institutional relations at Abrace, an association that represents large consumers, said that the inclusion of more subsidies for renewable sources in last week’s provisional measure is leaving the sector increasingly dysfunctional.
“We are the country of cheap energy and expensive bills,” he said. “It seems that those who criticize subsidies are against these sources, which is not true.”
According to the Secretary of Economic Development of Minas Gerais, Fernando Passalio, the “pro-hydroelectric” campaign that Minas Gerais embraces is extremely important for the future of Brazil. Passalio said, during the Fiemg event, that the state is working to reduce asymmetries that would make licensing for hydroelectric plants in the country more difficult. “We need continuous energy and, when we have hydroelectric power, we stop using thermal plants and dirty sources.”
Government secretary Romeu Zema (Novo) stated that the defense of the plants is also aligned with “the cause of ethanol” as opposed to electrification. Last year, Zema argued that electric cars are a threat to jobs in Brazil.
Stellantis maintains an important Fiat industrial unit in Betim (MG). Just over a month ago, the company that also controls Peugeot and Jeep announced R$30 billion in investments for flex hybrid cars.
The defense of ethanol is also a nod to the sugarcane sector in Minas Gerais. The Zema government announced, for example, that the state vehicle fleet will now be fueled with ethanol.
“This is part of the decarbonization of the economy. If the transition [para o carro elétrico] If this is very abrupt, we have an entire production chain in the automotive sector that will cease to exist immediately,” said Passalio. The secretary stated, however, that encouraging ethanol should not be seen as resistance to electrification.
“So much so that we are embracing the cause of ethanol and electric vehicles. This hybrid manages to preserve the industry, the production chain. Brazil cannot give up these jobs,” he said.
State of Minas
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Tags: Minas Gerais industry fights hydroelectric plants ethanol
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