The Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) plans to hold Brazil’s first energy storage battery auction in the second half of 2025. This initiative is a promising solution to enhance reliability and to provide greater flexibility to the electrical system, ensuring the continuity of power supply and meeting the capacity needs of the Brazilian Grid.
How does the auction benefit energy storage players?
Expectations surrounding the battery storage auction are highly significant, given its potential to enhance the security of the power supply to the Brazilian Grid—a crucial measure amid the increase share of non-dispatchable renewable sources in Brazil’s energy mix. The auction serves as an entry point into the Brazilian energy sector for storage players, allowing them to capitalize on the expansion of this technology and address the substantial domestic demand for energy storage solutions.
What is the significance of the battery storage auction for the Brazilian energy sector?
In addition to optimizing the Brazilian Grid by incorporating Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), the electrical system will gain stability and efficiency, allowing renewable energy generated during periods of low demand to be stored and used during the peak ones. This will help mitigate occurrences such as constrained-off events — orders issued by the Brazilian National System Operator demanding temporary reductions in energy.
What guidelines and models are proposed for the energy storage battery auction in Brazil?
The auction depends on the completion of two public consultations. ANEEL, the National Electric Energy Agency, is conducting one on the use of BESS and pumped storage plants (Public Consultation No. 039/2023), while the MME is leading the other on the auction guidelines (Public Consultation No. 176/2024). The proposed model currently targets storage solutions with a minimum capacity of 30 MW, available year-round, and compensated through fixed revenues.