House of the winds will invest R $2.4 bi in wind complex in Rio Grande do Norte

The developer of energy projects House of the winds will invest about R $2.4 billion in a wind generation complex in Rio Grande do Norte, which can still have almost doubled capacity in the future. "The wind resource in Rio do Vento (RN) is among the best in the world," says Lucas Araripe, director of new business at the house of the winds. "It has constant wind, speed, high density and very low standard deviation: When you join this exceptional wind with the large scale of the project, you reach a very low power generation cost." The project will have an installed power of 445 megawatts, with equipment from the Danish Vestas, which provides 106 turbines to the complex. The value of the contract has not been disclosed. The engine mounts will be produced at the Vestas factory in Ceará, while the blades and towers will also be produced locally, according to the rules of Finame II of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES). Business model According to Araripe, about 5% of the production was sold at auction by the Brazilian government last year, while the remainder will be offered to consumers in the so-called electricity free market, in which large companies can directly negotiate their Supply. "We work now to sell this energy," he said. "We're talking to big consumers." The company will now seek funding from BNDES and the Northeast Bank (BNB) for the venture, which has scheduled operations for the second semester of 2021. Also, no emission of debentures is discarded to raise resources. The wind complex of Rio do Vento is divided into several mills, and eventually the interested parties may close contracts that include a future purchase option of one or more units of the park. By becoming project partners, customers can have access to energy for lower costs, Araripe said. The regulation of the electric sector exempts from some charges companies that invest in the production of electricity itself. "We can sign regular long-term contracts or give the customer the option to purchase a slice of the project referring to his consumption, to be a partner," he said. "He becomes a partner afterwards, without the risk of deployment and construction." The House of Winds project has the potential for a second phase that could lead to 950 megawatts capacity. Both the transmission line and the substation of the undertaking will be constructed taking into account this future expansion. According to Araripe, the expansion should be made possible further, due to limitations for connection to the network in the park region. Meanwhile, the company must make the next investment in a project of up to 400 megawatts in Bahia, for which it intends to start seeking contracts after completing negotiations for the sale of the energy of Rio do Vento. Araripe also said that he intends to replicate in the new projects the strategy adopted in Rio Grande do Norte, negotiating a minimum amount of energy in government auctions to then seek contracts in the free market. This is because the amounts paid by the federal energy auctions have fallen amid the interest of investors in the contracts and the low demand for energy, which are the competition in the Certames, in which they win plants with lower final fare.