Brazilian energy storage hampered by technical challenges, lack of regulation

While Brazil wastes billions of real on curtailment, the electricity sector is demanding urgent action on an energy storage capacity reserve auction which is now not expected until 2026. ‘What is missing is the courage to unlock the market,’ said Greener CEO Marcio Takata.

From ESS News

The Brazilian electricity sector is experiencing a paradox: while the need for flexibility in the grid is growing – pressured by the expansion of renewables such as solar and wind – the advancement of energy storage continues to be hampered by regulatory uncertainties. The delay in regulating a planned capacity reserve auction focused on batteries is worrying manufacturers, investors, and experts, especially given the escalation in curtailment bills (for forced reduction of generation), which already exceed BRL 4 billion ($729 million).

“Brazil has a successful history of stimulating new technologies through auctions, as we saw with wind energy in 2009 and solar energy in 2014, but with batteries, we remain stuck,” said Greener CEO Marcio Takata during a panel on the topic at the seventh edition of the Greener Summit.

The Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica’s (ANEEL) Public Consultation 39, which specifically addresses storage, will complete two years without concrete progress in October. Consulta Pública 7 of the Ministry of the Environment, which proposes essential regulations for the sector, has also remained undefined since September 2023. The result is a regulatory vacuum that inhibits investment and leaves Brazil behind countries such as Chile and Spain, which have already faced challenges and learned from the technology.

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