The average price was BRL 124.43/MWh. Energy from no other power sources was sold. "This is wind power's moment in Brazil," said Mauricio Tolmasquim, president of the government's Energy Planning Enterprise, EPE. "So far this year almost 2.4GW of wind power has been sold and there is room for more."
A total of 9GW in wind projects had been registered to sell power at the auction, with delivery scheduled to start in January 2016.
Solar, biomass and small hydroelectric projects with a combined capacity of 1.3GW were also registered but all failed to sell power. This is the first time that wind projects have accounted for 100% of the power sold at a non-specific auction.
Elbia Melo, executive president of Brazilian wind-energy association, Abeeolica, welcomed the results and said prices were aligned with manufacturers' expectations and recent regulatory changes in the sector, including higher requirements for wind readings and local content demand.
In August, wind power developers sold 1.5GW of wind power in 66 projects at an average price of BRL 110/MWh.
The next auction is scheduled for 13 December. Wind accounts for almost half the 35GW registered that includes some 3GW in solar, 2GW in hydroelectric and more than 12GW in thermoelectric projects.
The power sold at this auction will need to be delivered by January 2018.
Tolmasquim said he expects wind power to continue to be competitive at the upcoming auction. "The risk is different since they will have until 2018 to build the wind parks," he said.
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