21GW of wind registers for Brazil A-5 auction

BRAZIL: Brazilian energy regulator Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica (EPE) has received registrations for over 21GW of wind capacity for its upcoming A-5 auction.

by David Weston 21 October 2015

Approximately 45% of the 47.6GW total auction capacity was taken up by wind projects

Almost 45% of the 47.6GW total capacity was taken up by wind projects for the auction, which will be held on 5 February 2016.

The 21.23GW of wind projects covers 846 projects in Brazil, most of which (7GW) would be located in the windy state of Bahia, northern Brazil.

Successful bidders in the February auction will be required to have the projects operational within five years – by 1 January 2021.

EPE president Mauricio Tolmasquim said: "The number of registered projects is a Brazilian and world record. It is the largest electricity auction in the world and shows the attractiveness of the Brazilian model."

In August's A-3 auction, where the wind farms must be ready to generate energy three years from auction date, power contracts averaged at just BRL181.14/MWh ($50.4/MWh) leading to experts warning the profitability of wind projects was at risk.

Wind power generation companies accounted about 80% of sales for the electricity contracted in the recent A3 auction, with wind accounting for 536MW of the 670MW traded.