Efficiency in the electric generation is no longer a technical choice. It is a strategic priority in the face of the global climatic crisis, economic pressures and requests for social justice. And Brazil must position themselves
The generation of energy in Brazil is experiencing a decisive moment. We are facing a crossroads that requires clear choices between efficiency and obsolescence, between sustainability and setbacks. The maintenance of dependence on thermoelectric plants, with an average efficiency between 30% and 40%, requires the country an expensive, polluting and inefficient energy model. The question that is imposed is if we are, in fact, betting on a sustainable energy future or simply perpetuating an obsolete system, modeled by crystallized losses, inefficiencies and interests.
The debate has obtained new contours with the suspension, by decision of the Court, of the 2025 energy reserve auction, promoted by the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel). The action was presented by the Brazilian Consumer Protection Association (underlying), which questioned the costs and, in particular, the efficiency of the proposed model, focused on taking on thermoelectric plants.
The moment is in favor of an essential question: is Brazil really ready to transform this opportunity into a milestone of innovation, or will it continue to bet on palliative measures that mask only the urgency of the structural reform in the electrical sector?
What is reserve energy and why does it matter?
Before going on, it is worth understanding what the reserve energy so called is. This is the amount of electricity that is made available to the system to be activated in emergency situations, such as faults in other sources or a sudden increase in demand, the so -called cutting -edge time. This type of energy acts as an insurance as it guarantees the reliability of the electrical system, allowing a rapid response to unexpected variations.
To this end, the Government holds specific energy reserve auctions, in which plants are taken able to provide further energy on request. In practice, these auctions have been dominated by thermoelectric plants, considered flexible and reliable – but, as we will see, with high costs and low efficiency.
The Aneel auction that has been suspended for the intake of energy with structured offers in the roundabouts according to the research company on energy (EPE), 327 projects were recorded, including new and existing thermoelectric systems and the enlargement of hydroelectric systems, for a total of an installed capacity exceeding 74 Gigawat. Of this total, 67% refer to the new thermal power, 30% to existing thermal and only 3% to hydroelectric enlargements. That is, we are talking about a gigantic bet on the thermoelectric generation. But at what cost?
While hydroelectric plants or solar and wind systems have greater energy efficiency because they work with renewable resources and direct conversion, thermoelectric plants lose most of the energy in the form of heat. This refusal is even more evident in open cycle thermal calls, whose efficiency varies from 30% to 40%. Already the combined thermal cycle – which reuses the heat generated for a second phase of generation – reaches 45% and 60% of efficiency, but still with significant losses.
By way of comparison, we think of the domestic use of the gas. When we use the gas directly to cook, we have a direct and efficient conversion. But if we use the same gas to generate electricity, which will therefore feed an electrical stove, we are creating a chain of energy loss. This is what happens, on a large scale, with the thermoelectric generation: an expensive process, inefficient and highly carbon.
And the emissions are not negligible. The data of the National Energy Balance (Ben) of 2024, referring to 2023, indicate that the emissions of the Brazilian electrical sector amounted to 38.9 million tons of equivalent. Only the thermal of natural gas that exist were already responsible for 11.3 million tons, or 29% of emissions from the electrical sector, which also represent only 9% of the national electric matrix.
Practicable and efficient alternatives
Despite the weight that still has the thermal strategy in the sector’s strategy, there are mature and economically valid technical solutions that can replace its expansion. Among these, it stands out:
· Robust energy efficiency programs, which reduce demand without compromising comfort or productivity;
· Hybrid plants, which combine sources such as sunny, wind and hydroelectric to compensate for intermittent and optimize the use of infrastructure;
· Energy conservation, as large batteries and reversible systems, which can preserve electricity in low demand moments for subsequent use;
· Conversion of gas in thermal biomass, especially in the regions with high availability of agricultural or forest waste.
In addition, public policies that encourage the innovation and decentralization of the generation – as intelligent networks and distributed generation – have great potential to make the system more resistant, clean and cheap for the consumer.
It is time to transform the energy key
Brazil has an energy matrix that has been historically considered one of the cleanest in the world. However, the recent expansion of the fossil generation, led by water crisis, legal insecurity and regulatory inertia, threatens this position.
In a world that accelerates decarbonisation and requires increasingly still climatic commitments, insisting on inefficient thermal power is swimming against the current of history.
The Brazilian electrical sector cannot continue to operate on the basis of short -term solutions, which mask only structural imbalances. The proximity of the auction of 2025 – even suspended – is an opportunity for a profound reflection. Governments, investors, regulatory agencies and civil society must build a pact for an equitable, efficient and sustainable energy transition.
Efficiency in the electric generation is no longer a technical choice. It is a strategic priority in the face of the global climatic crisis, economic pressures and requests for social justice. The inefficiency is expensive, not only in your pocket. It costs opportunities, quality of life and future. The good news is that the solutions are already within our reach. Only the decision to use them is missing.
Anton Schwyter is Energy, Climate and Geoscience Manager at the Arayara International Institute
Source: Terra
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