Rio Grande (Brazil) power station
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Rio Grande power station (Usina Termelétrica Rio Grande) is a proposed 1238-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power station in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Location
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station in Rio Grande, the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Project Details
- Sponsor: Termelétrica Rio Grande S.A.[1]
- Parent company: Grupo Cobra[2]
- Location: Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
- Coordinates: -32.0457, -52.0746 (approximate)[3]
- Gross generating capacity (pre-construction)[4]: 1238 MW
Background
The Rio Grande power station is part of a larger gas-to-power project first announced in 2008.[6] The project also includes an associated regasification facility (the Tergás LNG Terminal) in in the port city of Rio Grande in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state. Both the power plant and terminal were granted installation licenses by the state environmental authority Fepam in February 2022, with commercial operations expected to start as early as 2024.[7]
In early April 2022, Brazil's Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled to uphold a 2017 decision made by Brazil's national electricity agency ANEEL, which had revoked original owner Bolognesi Energia's operating permit for the power plant. The STJ's decision immediately put the entire gas-to-power project back on hold.[8] Throughout the month of April the project's future remained in limbo, as Bolognesi Energia sought ANEEL's approval for transfer of the plant to the Spanish company Grupo Cobra, a legal maneuver designed to keep the project alive.[8][9] In late April 2022, ANEEL reaffirmed its decision to reject the project, even under new ownership.[9]
Despite these setbacks, the owners continued to hold out hope that a forthcoming report from Brazil's national energy research agency EPE might deem the power plant critical to the national energy grid, thereby reviving the project once more.[9] Municipal and state government officials have continued to lobby ANEEL to allow Grupo Cobra to move forward with the plant[10], and in an October 2022 speech, Grupo Cobra CEO Jaime Llopis expressed hope that the plant could still begin commercial operations under new ownership by 2026.[5]
In March 2023, Governor Eduardo Leite met with representatives of Brazil's national electrical agency ANEEL to discuss the economic importance of reviving the project, noting that it would represent the largest private investment in the history of Rio Grande do Sul state, with the potential to generate up to 3,000 jobs.[11]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Sistema de Informações de Geração da ANEEL - SIGA". Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica (ANEEL, Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency). Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ↑ "Térmica de 1,2 GW recebe licença de instalação no RS". Canal Energia (in português do Brasil). February 15, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Projeto para construção de usina termoelétrica no município de Rio Grande é negado pela Aneel". CPG Click Petroleo e Gas. June 3, 2020. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- ↑ "Construção da termelétrica Rio Grande pode começar ainda este ano". UDOP. October 20, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Grupo Cobra prevê operação de termelétrica de Rio Grande para 2026". Jornal do Comércio. October 19, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Brazil to build onshore LNG terminal in Rio Grande do Sul". ICIS Explore. December 19, 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Usina Termelétrica abre caminho para Rio Grande dar a volta por cima após a crise do polo naval". Prefeitura do Rio Grande. 2022-02-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Revogação de outorga de usina bilionária em Rio Grande preocupa, mas autoridades acreditam em solução na Aneel". GZH. 2022-04-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Aneel nega pedido e põe em risco investimento de R$ 6 bilhões em Rio Grande". Jornal do Comércio. April 25, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Tentativa de garantir investimentos da termelétrica tem novo capítulo". Prefeitura do Rio Grande. August 26, 2022.
- ↑ "Governador participa de reunião na Aneel para tratar do projeto de termoelétrica em Rio Grande". Portal do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. March 22, 2023.
