Electricity will come from Rio do Vento and Umari wind farms
03/30/2023
/i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_37554604729d4b2f9f3eb9ad8a691345/internal_photos/bs/2022/4/c/DKHVpaSDeydSOzXcl0UQ/221107casadosventos072.jpg)
Lucas Araripe — Foto: Leonardo Rodrigues/Valor
Casa dos Ventos and Braskem signed an agreement worth R$2.1 billion to supply wind power from the Rio do Vento and Umari farms, both located in Rio Grande do Norte, through power purchase agreements (PPAs) of up to 22 years.
This second major agreement between the companies turns Casa dos Ventos into Braskem’s main supplier of renewable power. In January 2021, the companies announced the signing of 20-year renewable power supply agreements that helped materialize the first phase of the Rio do Vento wind complex, Latin America’s largest wind power project.
In this new agreement, part of the electricity will come from the expanded power supply of the Rio do Vento wind power complex, which will have a total installed capacity of 1,038 MW, of which 504 MW is already operational through 120 wind turbines. In 2023, 120 more wind turbines will start operating, adding 534 MW of power.
Another part of the electricity will come from the Umari wind complex, which is under construction and will be operational in 2024. The companies do not disclose the exact amount of electricity that each farm will provide, nor the total amount of power supplied. It is only known that the consolidated volume of contracts between the companies exceeds 100 average MW. This is equivalent to the residential consumption of a city of about 1.5 million people.
Casa dos Ventos Executive Director Lucas Araripe said that the transaction is key to make the company viable, as PPAs are the main way to expand renewable power generation in Brazil.
“Braskem was one of the main customers that brought a volume of electricity that allowed us to look for financing and make the expansion of renewable supply possible,” he said.
Mr. Araripe recalled that the first partnership with Braskem was a R$1 billion contract, also in the Rio do Vento project. Now, with this increase in the contracted acquisition of Rio do Vento’s output and part of Umari’s output, the agreements signed since the beginning amount to R$3.1 billion.
The contract is part of a typical strategy among electro-intensive companies like Braskem, which is to bet on renewables to advance in decarbonization as part of the commitment to reduce their emissions. The amount of power required is more thermal than electric, but the path to electrification is key in this process.
According to Gustavo Checcucci, Braskem’s chief energy and industrial decarbonization officer, this is the largest renewable power contract ever signed by Braskem, and the sixth long-term wind or solar contract signed by the petrochemical company in Brazil in four years – the second one with Casa dos Ventos.
Today, Braskem’s monthly consumption totals 550 MWm, a volume that comparatively exceeds the commercial consumption of the state of Bahia. Mr. Checcucci acknowledged the need for partnerships to accelerate the decarbonization process of the operation.
“With this contract, when it comes into operation, and together with the other contracts we have, we will exceed the volume of 220 MWm that Braskem has signed in Brazil,” he said. “The volume of power contracted by Braskem in its operations in Brazil will reach the threshold of 40% supplied by wind and solar.”
This is likely to happen in the first quarter of 2025 and will represent 8% of the decarbonization target. By 2030, the goal is to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 15%. Braskem estimates a reduction of 3.2 million tonnes of CO2, taking into account this one and the other contracts signed.
The other 60% will come from conventional sources, which include everything from hydropower to fossil fuels. If all goes well, the company hopes to achieve 85% renewable power in its power mix by 2030.
Por Robson Rodrigues — São Paulo
Source: VAlor International