The Senate (photo) approved, this Thursday (12), in Brasília, a bill (PL) that creates the Regulatory Framework for the Exploration of Electric Energy Offshore in Brazil. Although, initially, the text deals with the regulation of offshore wind energy exploration (offshore), parliamentarians included articles with incentives for the production of thermoelectric plants using natural gas and coal, which is the most polluting of fossil fuels. Now, bill (PL) 576/2021 goes to presidential approval.
The Workers’ Party (PT) presented a proposal to exclude one of the articles with incentives for thermoelectric plants, but ended up defeated by 40 votes to 28.
The government leader in Congress, senator Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP), informed that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will veto the sections on thermoelectric plants, warning that items foreign to the theme of wind energy offshore should cost R$595 billion in tax waivers by the year 2050, in addition to making electricity bills more expensive.
“[O projeto] will represent an increase from a tax waiver from R$405 billion to R$1 trillion. And it will be a R$1 trillion waiver for an industry that, in 2050, may no longer exist because we are making the energy transition”, explained Randolfe. According to the parliamentarian’s office, the data on tax waivers are projections calculated by the energy consultancy PSR.
Contradiction
The senator added that incentives for thermoelectric plants represent a contradiction to the original theme of the proposal and mean a tortoisewhich is the term used in the National Congress to refer to devices inserted without relation to the original theme of the proposal.
“In a project that deals with wind energy, tortoises to deal with coal-fired energy for the thermoelectric industry. What does thermoelectric power have to do with the energy transition and what does it have to do with wind energy? We contract mineral coal for energy generation. Totally antagonistic and contradictory in relation to this matter”, he added.
The project’s rapporteur, senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), maintained that he was also against the inclusion of these articles. “I didn’t think it was appropriate for these new materials to be included in the project, but they were. They are reality, and here, with the political forces they have in the House, everyone knows that conciliations need to be made, and we have maintained them”, he said.
Senators in favor of the text argued that Brazil has one of the cleanest energy matrices among countries and that encouraging coal is still important. Senator Esperidião Amim (PP-SC) justified that the country should not give in to pressure from abroad.
“Wanting to interrupt [a produção e energia por carvão] to please someone out there to subject us to a fad imported from places that didn’t take care as we did to have this energy matrix that was correctly remembered here, that’s too much”, he criticized.
For senator Otto Alencar (PSD-BA), the topic should be addressed in another project. “Placing all these subsidies for coal and thermoelectric plants within this proposal, I absolutely disagree. Nothing against evaluating it in another project, but in this project here, absolutely not”, he explained.
Energy bill could rise 11%
The organization União Pela Energia, which brings together non-governmental organizations that work on energy policies, projects that incentives for thermoelectric plants in the offshore will have a potential cost of R$658 billion to consumers by 2050, which would represent an 11% increase in the energy bill of all Brazilians.
“Impacting the population’s purchasing power and the country’s industrial competitiveness. The compulsory contracting of new generation capacity imposed by the provisions of the bill is unnecessary and has no technical support”, explains the entities’ report.
Landmark offshore
The bill regulates the generation of energy through the force of winds on the high seas, prohibiting the exploitation of wind energy offshore on navigation routes, sites of military activities and areas listed as cultural and natural heritage.
The contract for the assignment of use of the high seas areas will be divided into two phases: evaluation to analyze economic and environmental viability and execution for implementation and operation.
The grant notice will include mandatory clauses on the delivery of reports to the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), promotion of the national industry and sanctions in case of non-compliance with obligations. The text also foresees measures to encourage the production of solar energy.
