Brazil govt might consider solar energy auction

Jun 21, 2012 - Brazil's federal government could be considering an auction for solar energy projects only, in order to encourage the development of the solar industry in the country.
The government has been studying the possibility of organising an auction, it has given some indications in this direction but nothing has been decided yet, the government relations manager of GE Energy, part of US General Electric (NYSE:GE), for Latin America, Fabio Rua, said yesterday.
A special auction for this source of energy could help reduce the cost per MWh of the solar energy, he added. The president of GE Energy for Latin America, Mauricio Soares, in turn noted that even with an auction it will still take time until solar energy becomes economically viable.
GE Energy participates in the Taua solar project, in Brazil's Ceara state, in partnership with local MPX Energia (SAO:MPXE3). In August 2011, the two companies announced they will double Taua's capacity to 2 MW.
At the beginning of May, the president of Brazil's state-run energy research company EPE, Mauricio Tolmasquim, affirmed that a solar energy auction could stimulate the development of the sector. However, the contracted volume of energy should be small so that the current high prices of solar energy do not affect electricity tariffs, he noted.

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