Caçapava power station
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Caçapava power station (Usina Termelétrica Caçapava) is an announced power station in Caçapava, São Paulo, Brazil. It is also known as Usina Termelétrica São Paulo.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Caçapava power station | Caçapava, São Paulo, Brazil | -23.078202, -45.672728 (approximate)[1] |
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Announced[2][3][4][5][6][1][7] | fossil gas: natural gas[8][1] | 1743.8[1][9][4] | unknown | not found |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Energia Participações Ltda [100%][7][1][10] | Fox Energy Servicos de Energia Ltda; Martins Empreendimentos, Engenharia e Participacoes Ltda; natural person(s); Newlima Corp |
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The 1.7 GW Caçapava power station, sponsored by Natural Energia, is one of the largest gas-fired power plants ever proposed in Brazil.[11] The proposed plant would reportedly occupy an area of 26 hectares, requiring an investment of US $1 billion and generating up to 2000 jobs during its construction.[11]
In September 2023, with the project still reportedly in the early stages of development and seeking its environmental license, the São Paulo state Department of Water and Power (DAEE) granted its approval for the plant to use water from the Paraíba do Sul river basin.[11]
In January 2024, a judge indefinitely suspended the environmental licensing process for the Caçapava plant[12], and in April 2024, two analysts from the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama flagged a series of issues with the project's environmental impact statement, recommending that public hearings be deferred until these issues were resolved.[13]
However, Ibama's Director of Environmental Licensing went ahead and scheduled two hearings in early July.[13] Hundreds of protestors opposed to the project attended both hearings, essentially shutting them down.[14] Project owner Natural Energia argued that the normal environmental licensing process should move forward despite the suspension of the July hearings, but a federal court ruled both hearings invalid in August 2024, leaving the project in limbo.[15]
Project developer Natural Energia intended to enter the Caçapava project in Brazil's mid-2025 energy auctions, but in February 2025 Ibama denied the company's request for a preliminary license, leaving it ineligible to participate.[16][17] In rejecting the Caçapava plant's license, Ibama noted that the company had failed to address 65% of the 233 requests for supplemental information prompted by the project's environmental impact study.[16]
Opposition
The project has continued to provoke controversy and opposition from environmentalists and community groups ever since it was originally announced in 2022.[1][2][3][4][11][18]
Various groups, including the civil society organization Arayara, the consumer defense institute Idec, and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office have voiced concerns about the project's environmental impact, asserting that the Caçapava plant would pose grave dangers to air, soil and water quality in the Paraíba Valley.[19] Opponents of the project have also argued that gas-fired power would be more expensive than electricity from readily available renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, and bioenergy.[19]
As of November 2024, municipal governments in a dozen cities surrounding the plant -- including Caçapava -- had officially spoken out against it.[20] Throughout 2025, others, including the municipal government of Aparecida, the Archdiocese of Aparecida and four other Paraíba Valley dioceses issued official statements opposing the plant for its impact on air quality and water security, among other concerns.[21][22][23] In May 2025, local news outlet TV Aparecida produced a documentary exploring the socio-environmental impacts caused by similar gas plants already operating in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo states, and their implications for the Caçapava project.[24][25]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125090200/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF1tuTtXZZU. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://auditoriacidada.org.br/conteudo/vitoria-momentanea-contra-instalacao-de-usina-de-gas-metano-em-cacapava-sp/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://arayara.org/termeletrica-de-cacapava-entenda-os-pontos-contra-e-a-favor/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Justiça suspende licenciamento ambiental de termelétrica em Caçapava". Agência Brasil. 2024-01-31. Archived from the original on 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
- ↑ https://www.band.uol.com.br/band-vale/noticias/usina-termeletrica-de-cacapava-nao-atende-requisitos-e-fica-fora-de-leilao-do-ibama-202502281731.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://arayara.org/leilao-de-capacidade-de-2025-ute-sao-paulo-ficara-de-fora-apos-despacho-do-ibama/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240125104708/https://www.camara.leg.br/noticias/922510-comissao-debatera-instalacao-de-usina-de-gas. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240125090137/https://arayara.org/audiencia-publica-na-camara-federal-contra-instalacao-da-maior-usina-termeletrica-a-gas/. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Construção de novas termelétricas consolida gás natural como fonte de energia complementar às renováveis". O Globo. 2024-02-21. Archived from the original on 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-11.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240125100204/https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/po/ong_associacao_eco_vital_usina_termoeletrica_em_cacapava_nao/. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "DAEE libera captação de água para futura usina termoelétrica em Caçapava". Sampi. September 7, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Justiça suspende licenciamento ambiental de termelétrica em Caçapava". Agência Brasil. 2024-01-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 13.0 13.1 Oliveira, Rafael (2024-06-25). "Maior termelétrica do país avança mesmo com parecer contrário". Agência Pública.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Caixeta, Fernando (2024-07-03). "Ibama cancela audiência de térmica em Caçapava (SP) devido a protestos". eixos.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Justiça indefere pedido de termoelétrica de validar audiências". Instituto Internacional Arayara. 2024-08-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Projeto de usina termoelétrica em Caçapava não obtém licença ambiental e fica fora de leilão de reserva de capacidade". Arayara. 2025-02-21.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Usina termelétrica de Caçapava não atende requisitos e fica fora de leilão do Ibama". Band Vale. 2025-02-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Lavínia Faria (September 10, 2023). "Termelétrica em Caçapava, na contramão das alternativas sustentáveis". SP RIO+.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Termelétrica de Caçapava: Entenda os pontos contra e a favor". Instituto Internacional Arayara. 2024-07-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Vitória momentânea contra instalação de usina de gás metano em Caçapava-SP - Auditoria Cidadã da Dívida". Auditoria Cidadã da Dívida. 2024-11-08.
- ↑ "Câmara de Aparecida manifesta repúdio à instalação de Usina Termelétrica no Vale do Paraíba". Câmara Municipal de Aparecida. 2025-09-03.
- ↑ "Unidos por uma preocupação comum. Não queremos uma termoelétrica em Caçapava – Portal da Diocese de Taubaté". Diocese de Taubaté. 2025-09-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Conferência: O impacto da termelétrica de Caçapava na saúde da população do Vale do Paraíba". Faculdade Dehoniana • YouTube. 2025-09-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Arquivo A apresenta reportagem sobre os impactos das usinas termelétricas". A12 TV. 2025-09-03.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Arquivo A: Os impactos das usinas termelétricas". TV Aparecida. 2025-05-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of gas-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
