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Nova Seival power station (Usina Termelétrica Nova Seival) is a shelved power station in Candiota, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is also known as Sul Power Station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Nova Seival power station | Candiota, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil | -31.6, -53.733333 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Shelved | coal: unknown | 363 | supercritical | 2027 (planned) |
| Unit 2 | Shelved | coal: unknown | 363 | supercritical | 2027 (planned) |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Energias da Campanha Ltda [100%] | Copelmi Mineração Ltda |
| Unit 2 | Energias da Campanha Ltda [100%] | Copelmi Mineração Ltda |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Seival mine
Background
In November 2009, MPX Energia obtained a preliminary permit for the Sul power project, with a stated generation capacity of 600MW. In December 2010, IBAMA (the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources) approved an increase in the project's capacity to 727 MW.[1]
MPX (which changed its name to Eneva in October 2013 after joining forces with the German energy corporation E.ON) withdrew the Sul power project from consideration in Brazil's August 2013 national energy auction due to low energy prices.[2] Eneva did not register the Sul project for subsequent government energy auctions in December 2013, November 2014, or April 2015, although Sul's sister project, Seival thermal power project, was a participant in the latter two auctions.[3][4]
As of February 2015, Eneva continued to list both the Sul and Seival power projects on a single web page, implying that neither project had been conclusively abandoned. Sul's generating capacity was still listed as 727 MW, while Seival's was listed as 600 MW, and their combined generating capacity was specifically listed as 1327 MW, making it clear that these were two related but separate projects.
Eneva has since removed all references to the Sul project from its website. However, government energy forecasts published by Rio Grande do Sul state in 2016 continued to list Eneva Sul as an active project[5], and several August 2017 press reports specifically cited the Eneva Sul project as an eligible contender in Brazil’s December 2017 A-6 energy auction.[6][7][8] Ultimately, there were no successful bids from coal projects in the December 2017 auction, with the Brazilian government granting all new energy contracts to projects fueled by natural gas or renewables (mainly wind).[9]
In February 2019 Copelmi, majority owner of the Seival mine, purchased Eneva's stake in the mine for R$18 million, along with rights to the Sul power project; under the sales agreement, additional payments from Copelmi to Eneva would be conditioned on further development of the Sul power project, now renamed Nova Seival, through December 2024.[10]
Copelmi announced that it was seeking the necessary environmental license from the Brazilian energy agency IBAMA in hopes of including the Nova Seival project in Brazil's September 2019 A-6 energy auction.[11] The project was not included in the 2019 auction but Copelmi announced their intention to participate in the next auction in April 2020,[12] with an eye to commencing commercial operations by January 2026.[13]
In March 2020 Brazil's government announced that all national energy generation auctions would be postponed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 health crisis[14][15]; the date of the next A-6 auction was subsequently set for September 2021.[16]
In May 2021, Copelmi's subsidiary Energias da Campanha Ltda announced updated plans for the Nova Seival plant, noting that the project would be the first in Brazil to use supercritical technology, with a budget of US$ 1.3 billion and a 2027 commissioning date.[17]
By June 2024, the project had not progressed and was likely shelved. While Copelmi had not formally cancelled the project, the company did not appear to be actively pursuing the proposed power station following the 2022 court ruling which upheld the project's license suspension.
In August 2024, with two years since the suspension of the project's licensing, Nova Seival power station was presumed to be shelved.
Opposition and suspension of environmental license
In June 2021, UTE Nova Seival was denounced by the Committee for Combating Mega Mining Companies in the State of Rio Grande do Sul (CCM-RS).[18]
In August 2021, the 9th Federal Court of Porto Alegre granted a preliminary injunction pleaded by numerous environmental groups concerned about the impact the Nova Seival plant would have on the region.[19][20][21] The decision determined three public hearings were to replace a cancelled hearing in addition to the suspension of the environmental licensing process of UTE Nova Seival until environmental concerns were properly addressed.[21] As of October 2021, the Nova Seival project remained in limbo.[22][23] In a June 2022 decision hailed by environmentalists, the Regional Federal Court of Brazil's 4th Region upheld suspension of the licensing process.[24][25]
In August 2022, the 9th Federal Court upheld its preliminary injunction, calling for continued suspension of the Nova Seival plant's license pending resolution of defects in the plant's original environmental impact report and further analysis by Brazil's environmental authority, Ibama. The court ruled that the ongoing licensing process must take into account Brazil's national policy on climate change and include further analysis of risks to human health.[26][27] The ruling further stipulated that once Ibama's analysis was concluded, at least three public hearings on the plant's environmental impact were to be held in Porto Alegre, Bagé, Hulha Negra and/or Candiota.[27][28]
In March 2023, opposition to the proposed plant was distinguished by a peer-reviewed article as an emblematic case of "community mobilization and strategic litigation," which made it possible to "suspend the licensing of such an enterprise." [29] In June 2023, it remained unclear whether the plant's development was ongoing, or if the project would become shelved. An August 2023 article lauded the suspension of the proposed project's environmental licensing as the "culmination of a yearslong judicial process that sought not only to address irregularities in the project’s environmental impact assessment, but also to compel the firm to reflect on the concerns of the affected communities."[30] By the end of 2023, there had been no further news of the power project's development.
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "MPX finaliza compra da Seival". Exame. 2011-06-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "MPX passa a se chamar Eneva". Época Negócios. September 11, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Carvão Mineral tem quatro projetos inscritos para o leilão de energia A-5,", SieceSC, July 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Leilão A-5 2015 cadastra 19.826 MW em novos projetos de energia, diz EPE". Reuters. 2015-02-05.
- ↑ "Boletim Técnico 36: Quantificação das Cinzas de Carvão Fóssil Produzidas no Brasil, p 10", Fundação de Ciência e Tecnologia, July 2016.
- ↑ "Uma nova chance para o carvão do Rio Grande do Sul,", Jornal do Comércio, August 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Projetos a carvão são confirmados em leilão,", Jornal do Comércio, August 9, 2017.
- ↑ "Termelétricas a carvão podem participar do leilão de energia,", Jornal Minuano, August 9, 2017.
- ↑ "Leilão A-6 viabiliza 3,8 GW e R$ 13,9 bilhões em novos investimentos," CanalEnergia, December 20, 2017
- ↑ "Eneva vende participação na Seival Sul Mineração". Finance News. February 26, 2019.
- ↑ "Copelmi busca licença ambiental para concorrer em leilão de energia de setembro". Jornal Minuano. May 10, 2019.
- ↑ "Copelmi anuncia que trabalha para participar do leilão de energia em 2020 com o projeto da UTE Nova Seival em Candiota". Jornal Tribuna do Pampa. September 23, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Copelmi projeta construção da Usina Nova Seival". Jornal Minuano. February 12, 2020.
- ↑ "MME posterga realização dos leilões de energia elétrica e de transmissão". EPE (Empresa de Pesquisa Energética). March 30, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Sánchez Molina, Pilar (April 1, 2020). "Brazil postpones energy auctions". PV magazine.
- ↑ "Leilões de energia representam oportunidades para o setor". UNICA. December 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Candiota pode receber primeira usina termelétrica do Brasil com tecnologia supercrítica". Jornal Minuano. May 1, 2021.
- ↑ "The advance of mega mining companies and the concentration of wealth against life and the common goods – Amigos da Terra Brasil". www.amigosdaterrabrasil.org.br (in português do Brasil). Retrieved 2021-06-14.
- ↑ "AÇÃO CIVIL PÚBLICA Nº 5030786-95.2021.4.04.7100/RS" (PDF). Seção Judiciária do Rio Grande do Sul - 9ª Vara Federal de Porto Alegre. August 31, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Instituto Preservar et. al. v. Copelmi Mineração Ltda. and IBAMA". Climate Change Litigation. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 JM, Redação (2021-09-02). "Liminar anula audiência pública da Usina Termelétrica Nova Seival | Editoria Região". Jornal Minuano | O jornal que Bagé gosta de ler (in português do Brasil). Retrieved 2021-11-22.
- ↑ "Segue suspenso licenciamento ambiental de termelétrica Nova Seival (RS)". Tribunal Regional Federal da 4ª Região. October 26, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Advogada da UTE Nova Seival contesta informação de que licenciamento ambiental esteja suspenso". Jornal Tribuna do Pampa. November 11, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Luta coletiva mantém suspensão do licenciamento da UTE Nova Seival e traz vitórias para a justiça climática". Amigos da Terra Brasil. July 12, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Justiça Federal mantém suspenso licenciamento ambiental da Usina Termelétrica Nova Seival". Sinasefe IFSul. June 23, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Maldonado, E. Emiliano; Resadori, Alice Hertzog; Miola, Thales Zendron (2023-03-27). "Litigância climática no sul do Brasil: o caso da Usina Termelétrica Nova Seival". Revista Direito e Práxis (in português). 14. doi:10.1590/2179-8966/2023/73125. ISSN 2179-8966.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Sentença histórica suspende licenciamento da Usina Termelétrica Nova Seival em ação climática". MAM Nacional. August 24, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Justiça Federal suspende licenciamento ambiental da usina Nova Seival". Jornal Minuano. August 23, 2022.
- ↑ Maldonado; et al. (March 2023). "Litigância climática no sul do Brasil: o caso da Usina Termelétrica Nova Seival". SciElo Brazil.
{{cite news}}: Explicit use of et al. in:|last=(help) - ↑ LEGAL EMPOWERMENT IN ACTION: CLIMATE CHANGE LITIGATION IN BRAZIL The Fund for Global Human Rights, Aug. 1, 2023
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
