CSP World

A total of 10 projects amounting 290 MW of Concentrated Solar Power have been filed with the Brazilian Energy Research Agency (EPE in Portuguese).

The projects will bid for the A-3/2013 energy auction to be held on November 18. CSP projects accounts for 1.5% of total power registered in this auction. Wind projects represent the main proposals with 629 projects for 15,042 MW while solar photovoltaic ranks the second with 109 projects amounting 2,729 MW.

The CSP projects are located in two states, eight of them amounting 240 MW have been applied for Bahia while the two remaining totaling 50 MW are planned for Paraiba. EPE has not disclosed more details about the projects.

The A-3/2013 tender, was launched last July under the Power Purchase Agreements Regulated Framework (CCEAR in Portugese) and the auction was scheduled to be held on October 25, a date that was modified and delayed to November 18. The bidding is intended for wind, solar PV, solar CSP, biomass, natural gas and hydro.

The approved projects will begin delivering electricity by January 1, 2016 under a 20 years contract.

Brazil currently doesn't host any CSP plant. Last June 2012, the regional goverment of Pernambuco announced a project to build a 1 MW CSP parabolic trough demonstration plant expected to be complete within two years since the announcement.

As previously reported by CSP World, Eletrobras, a state-owned utility launched last June 2013 a tender to procure solar measurment stations to gather data from posilble locations for futther CSP plants.