Why Wärtsilä is optimistic about the Brazilian market

Finland's Wärtsilä sees opportunities for thermoelectric projects with gas engines in Brazil's next backup capacity tender, scheduled for August, the company's Brazil energy business director, Jorge Alcaide, told BNamericas.

Alcaide said engines are more suitable than turbines for flexible plants – those that do not generate power constantly – as will be the case with the projects contracted in the auction. 

Capacity tenders aim to contract power generation to be installed and made available for use only at times when the electricity system needs an extra boost to meet peak demand. 

In Brazil, this can happen in situations of low storage levels in hydroelectric reservoirs or lack of wind or sunlight, given the intermittency of wind and solar power plants, which already account for more than 20% of national capacity. 

Turbines, on the other hand, are suitable for combined-cycle plants that generate constantly, offering significant savings over engines. 

"If there’s intermittent operation, the engine is friendlier, because it can inject energy into the grid within five minutes after being turned on. When you turn a turbine on and off, its maintenance interval decreases," said Alcaide. 

He said the big challenge for capacity auctions is the supply of gas. As these are thermal plants that only operate a few days a year, it is not easy to sign contracts, since the ideal for the supplier is to have a constant supply. 

Hence the plentiful pipeline of LNG-to-power projects, with plants being fueled by liquefied natural gas – such as Ceiba Energy's Jandaia in Ceará state. 

"The best solution for a capacity auction is a liquid fuel, as it can be stored," said Alcaide.