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Brazil''s transmission grid is undergoing huge change as it plans to add 3 to 5 GW of renewables each year over the next decade, at a time when transmission capacity is very limited in the region. In this article our Commercial Manager for Brazil, André Priolli, reflects on the uptake of FACTS in the country so far and shares insights from the recent CIGRE XIX ERIAC event hosted in Foz do Iguaçu.
Throughout the region of the RIAC (LatAm and Iberian countries), FACTS are in different stages of maturity and deployment, and that was notable during some presentations. I was able to follow a presentation by REE – Red Eléctrica de España (Spain Transmission System Operator), that showed a clear step by step planning process to evaluate alternatives to optimize the grid, which grid enhancing technologies and FACTS are first picks against traditional new infrastructure. Other countries, such as Colombia, presented similar use cases, in which FACTS were deployed in combination with new infrastructure providing immediate benefits to the short and long-term scenarios.
In Brazil, during 2010-2018 there was a wave of FACTS being used to enable interconnection of renewable energy in new and remote areas of the country, as well as grid stabilization. But it''s clear that we''re now at a turning point in the wide-scale use of these technologies, given the rapid growth in renewables connecting to the grid.
According to transmission planning studies concluded by EPE in 2022, over 15,000 km of new transmission lines and 16 new substations are planned for construction by 2028, represented in Figure [1] on the left. This means an expansion of 8% of the total length of transmission lines in the national interconnected system, and it''s primarily to connect new renewable generation. To build such incremental new infrastructure is a particular challenge and will take time to be in service. The risk of delay, however, can''t be neglected, due to complex construction, permitting processes as well as skilled workforce and companies needed for such projects, that are, at the moment, a scarce and competitive resource .
According to available data by ANEEL, in the Northeast alone, 9 GW of wind and solar projects are already under construction and another 75 GW have submitted their requests to access the grid until 2026 and are in the queue. Important to highlight that these this figure is equivalent of what EPE forecasted for the whole horizon up to 2032, in a optimistic scenario. This difference is mainly the result of a law from 2021 that stablished the end of discounts for interconnection tariffs – Tarifa de Uso do Sistema de Transmissão (TUST), for solar projects that requested access to the grid before March 2022. This law resulted, as said in the market, in a ''Golden Rush'', which many developers anticipated their request for access to guarantee the interconnection tariff subsidy.
On the other hand, according to ONS – Operador Nacional do Sistema (Brazilian independent system operator) – capacity map, the remaining existing transmission capacity in the northeast of Brazil, between 2023 and 2026, is close to zero. To tackle this mismatch Brazilian authorities are considering a competitive process for transmission capacity margin, in order to prioritize the renewable projects in the queue, replacing the current ''first in – first out'' rule of the queue. It is expected that this process alone will be able to significantly reduce the quantity of projects in the queue and remove non-mature projects from the Golden Rush, but still may not be sufficient to enable all the projects that renewables developers'' are bringing forward in Brazil.
The open question is: how to accommodate the connection of new renewable generation to the grid, if there is no transmission capacity until 2027?
In reality, the transmission grid as a whole is not operating that close to its limit. A small number of critical lines or network components will act as bottlenecks that limit the entire system capacity and slows renewable interconnection, even if spare capacity exists elsewhere on the network. FACTS devices that control power flows and/or provide grid stabilization services can remove these bottlenecks and add the required flexibility and support renewable integration. This "additional capacity" on the existing grid will close the gap between the long-term infrastructure and the immediate need for transmission capacity that renewable interconnections require in Northeast of Brazil.
By applying leading FACTS, such as our modular Static Synchronous Series Compensators (m-SSSCs)—SmartValve—power flows can be quickly redirected from overloaded nodes to ones with spare capacity, quickly unlocking transmission capacity, while increasing overall system security and resilience. SmartValve paves the way forward for series–connected FACTS (Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems) with a modular, transformerless approach and deployment flexibility to deliver greater solution value.
With its modular standardized design, the m-SSSC is distinct from legacy tailor-made FACTS devices and can be easily expanded or relocated in the future even at different voltage levels as the needs of the transmission system change over time, making it a ''no regrets'' solution for system planning. The faster delivery and install timeframes, high reliability, capability to provide dynamic services, and its minimal impact on the local environment also contribute to the m-SSSCs to be implemented immediately and not wait until the long-term infrastructure is ready.
Accelerating renewable interconnection with m-SSSCs
We''re actively working with stakeholders in Brazil who are considering the use of distributed FACTS to resolve overloads and optimize grid operation, without the need to build new lines or reconductor existing lines, and to better utilize the existing infrastructure.
With renewable developers, we are studying alternative solutions to reduce curtailment of existing projects as well as evaluating creative ways to anticipate their connection to the system, given the mismatch between their PPA''s and transmission capacity margin.
Another example, a utility in São Paulo state, decided to look at alternative solutions to resolve increasing levels of congestion on a 138 kV line in normal (N) and contingency (N-1) conditions. The original option considered was to rebuild a section of the 138 kV circuit to increase its capacity, but this was estimated for completion in Q3 2026, resulting in thermal overloads that increase year-on-year while the line is under construction. Meanwhile, this would limit expansion of the distribution company in the region, limiting to a certain extent the regional development.
The analysis showed that using m-SSSCs to balance power flows would resolve the network need and deliver net economic benefits 15% higher than those of the new line and executed 2 years before the competing solution. The faster delivery and installation timeframes, flexibility to scale or relocate the devices, and avoided negative impact on the local environment (these devices are compact and can fit within the existing substations) also contributed to the m-SSSCs being the preferred option.
During XIX ERIAC closing ceremony, technical committees C1 and B4 highlighted the wide use of FACTS, specially SSSC technology, for optimizing power systems resources. Following strong growth in multiple markets across Central and South America, including in Brazil and Colombia, Smart Wires officially opened an office in Medellin last year to act as our operational hub and support growing demand in the region. FACTS offer huge potential to support the energy transition in Central and South America, and I look forward to continuing to collaborate with stakeholders to advance the use of innovative technology in the future.
André is Commercial Manager South America for Smart Wires, leading the development of existing and new markets for the company. In cooperation with the customers, he and his team are looking for new opportunities to optimize the existing transmission grids with the application of modular FACTS, evaluating the business case for each individual project, together with customer team and expertise of the system.
Before joining Smart Wires, André worked for 10 years in the transmission industry, as sales manager for FACTS in LATAM.
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An electrical substation in Brazil. Chinese power giant State Grid will build a 1,513-kilometre transmission line and two substations in Brazil''s north-east, a region experiencing a boom in wind and solar power plants. (Image: Jose Luis Stephens / Alamy)
The company secured the largest of the three contracts on offer, and plans to invest 18 billion reais (US$3.6 billion) to build 1,513 kilometres of transmission lines and two substations between the state of Maranhão, in Brazil''s north-east, and the central state of Goiás.
The main aim of the project is to guarantee the flow of renewable energy generation from Brazil''s north-east region, which is experiencing a boom in wind and solar power plants.
Ramon Haddad, vice-president of State Grid Brazil told local outlet Agência Estado that the company has set a deadline to complete the project within six years, but hopes to do so ahead of schedule to make the venture more profitable and more quickly meet the needs of the Brazilian electricity sector. The signing of the concession is scheduled for 3 April, from which the deadline will take effect.
The auction of this single lot alone represents at least five times more than the US$588 million of Chinese investment announced in the entire sector in 2022, according to data from the Brazil-China Business Council (CEBC). It guaranteed a boost to Chinese investment in the country in the first year of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva''s new administration.
Recent years have seen relations between the two countries marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, China''s economic difficulties and anti-China rhetoric from former president Jair Bolsonaro. Following this rocky period, the number of projects by Chinese companies in all sectors in Brazil has risen, increasing by 14% in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to CEBC, although the overall value of these investments was down by 78%.
The December auction was celebrated by both the market and Brazil''s federal government, but it also posed a challenge to Lula: that of better defining his energy policy in the midst of the urgent need to combat climate change. Brazil has recently seen significant growth in renewable energy, and the president has regularly pitched his government as a champion of green causes, but also faced criticism over his mixed signals on expanding the country''s oil output.
Experts interviewed by Diálogo Chino recognise that new investments in transmission lines could help eliminate energy bottlenecks that currently see some renewable generation struggle to make it onto the grid and, at the same time, promote the country''s energy transition. However, they also say there are risks that should not be overlooked, such as the possibility that the tender could end up boosting other polluting energy sources.
Celebrating the result of the auction, Brazil''s Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, argued that the project will "reinforce investments in clean and renewable energies, such as wind, biomass and solar, making Brazil even more consolidated as a major player in the world''s energy transition."
In practice, the outcome could be different. Anton Schwyter, a consultant for the energy programme of the ️Brazilian Institute for Consumer Defense (IDEC), argues that the new transmission lines could have side effects, such as enabling the construction of fossil fuel thermal power stations in the north-east.
Schwyter recalls that in 2022, as part of the law that allowed for the privatisation of state-owned energy company Eletrobras, the national congress mandated the installation of natural gas thermoelectric plants. Those in support of the measure argued that this was to guarantee the country''s energy security in the transition phase of the privatisation of the state-owned company.
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