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Brazil has extensive,
semi-arid regions receiving direct normal insolation on the order of
6kWh/m² daily. The greatest radiation potential is in the São Francisco
River Basin and the Sobradinho area in the Northeast. Potential sites in
Brazil are close to the equator and this has an optical advantage.
Immense land areas are available for solar thermal applications.
Januária and Itacarambi (two START Team sites visited) have excellent
topographic conditions, grid access, cooling water, road access, low
wind speeds, and moderate ambient temperatures with little daily
variation. These sites receive annual solar direct radiation between
1800 and 2300 kWh/m²a and can easily accommodate large-scale solar power
plants.
Brazil has monitored global radiation for the past twenty years and
began monitoring direct normal radiation, a value necessary for studying
solar concentrating technologies, in the past ten years. Studies have
also produced correlations between the two values in order to benefit
from the extensive global radiation databases available. A previous
study sponsored by the German government regarding an 80MW trough-type
solar electric generating station in Brazil had demonstrated that solar
thermal was still more expensive than hydro and fossil alternatives for
grid-connected systems. A full review of the need for new energy and the
changes in technology since the previous consideration would contribute
to the identification of possible implementation of this technology in
Brazil. An exhaustive solar plant site survey had been carried out from
1990 to 1991 by Flachglas Solartechnik (Flagsol) together with
ELETRONORTE,
CHESF and
CEMIG including the screening of dozens of site
locations. As preferred sites, the Januária area in Minas Gerais was
pre-selected for CEMIG and the Sobradinho area for CHESF. The radiation
measurements carried out from 1990 to 1993 at selected sites in the
concession areas of CEMIG, CHESF and ELETRONORTE indicated annual normal
direct radiation levels between 1750 and 2300 kWh/m²a.
CEPEL and others have
identified off-grid villages, irrigation loads, and grid-connected power for
cities as the market for solar thermal power plants in Brazil. Plants would
optimally be located along the São Francisco River and in the Northeast. The
size of proposed plants are from 10s of kW to approximately 100MW. Trough,
tower, and dish solar thermal technologies could be deployed.
Brazil had
applied in 1997 through
UNDP for a Project Development Fund (PDF) at
GEF for conducting a study on "Reducing
the Long-term Cost of Solar Thermal Power Generation". The
application was approved by
GEF in early 1998 and an implementation
agreement was signed with
UNDP. After a period of project
reorganization, work was started by
CEPEL in December 2001, but
abandoned in 2004.
Download the Brazil START Mission Report (PDF 2.667 kB) |
