Porto do Pecém power station

From Global Energy Monitor
(Redirected from Energia Pecem power project)

Porto do Pecém power station (Usina Terméletrica Pecém) is an operating power station of at least 1085-megawatts (MW) in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará, Brazil with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Porto do Pecém power station São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará, Brazil -3.5827, -38.875 (exact)[1]
Loading map...

Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Plant I Unit 1, Plant I Unit 2, Plant II Unit 1, Plant III: -3.5827, -38.875

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Plant I Unit 1, timepoint 1 Operating[2] coal: unknown[3] 360[3] subcritical 2012[3] 2027 (planned)[4][5][6]
Plant I Unit 1, timepoint 2 Announced[7][8][9][10] fossil gas: natural gas, other: hydrogen (green)[7][8][10] 360[7] unknown[7][8] 2028 (planned)[7][10]
Plant I Unit 2, timepoint 1 Operating[2] coal: unknown[3] 360[3] subcritical 2013[3] 2027 (planned)[4][5][6]
Plant I Unit 2, timepoint 2 Announced[7][8][9][10] fossil gas: natural gas, other: hydrogen (green)[7][8][10] 360[7] unknown[7][8] 2028 (planned)[7][10]
Plant II Unit 1 Operating[2][11] coal: unknown[11] 365[11] subcritical 2013[11] 2040 (planned)[12][13][14]
Plant III Announced[15][7][10] fossil gas: natural gas[7] 1300[15][7][10] unknown

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 Operator Owner Parent
Plant I Unit 1, timepoint 1 Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia SA[2] Fram Capital Gestão de Ativos SA
Plant I Unit 1, timepoint 2 Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia SA[2] Fram Capital Gestão de Ativos SA
Plant I Unit 2, timepoint 1 Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia SA [100%][2] Fram Capital Gestão de Ativos SA
Plant I Unit 2, timepoint 2 Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia SA [100%][2] Fram Capital Gestão de Ativos SA
Plant II Unit 1 Eneva SA [100%][11] Eneva SA [100.0%]
Plant III Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia[16] Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia SA [100%][16] Fram Capital Gestão de Ativos SA

Unit-level fuel conversion details:

Plant I Unit 1: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2028.

Plant I Unit 2: Announced conversion from coal to fossil gas in 2028.

Background

Pecém I

Brazilian energy company Eneva (formerly MPX Energia SA) and power holding company EDP Energias no Brasil each held a 50 per cent stake in the 720 MW Pecém I station at the time of its original licensing in 2006. Units 1 and 2 each have 360 MW of capacity.[17] Pecém I won a contract in Brazil's October 2007 A-5 energy auction to produce an annual average of 615MW of power over a 15-year period, and in January 2012 received permission from the Brazilian authorities to begin testing the first coal unit.[18] In December 2012, Brazil's energy regulator ANEEL authorized Pecém I's first unit to begin commercial operations[19], and in May 2013, Pecém I's second unit also received the green light from ANEEL to start operating commercially.[20][19] In 2015, Eneva sold its stake in the project to EDP Brasil, which assumed 100% ownership of Units 1 and 2.[21]

In March 2023, it was reported that the president of the Development Company for the Industrial and Port Complex of Pecém, Hugo Figueiredo, had announced that coal-fired plants in Pecém would have their contracts with the National Electric Energy Agency terminated in 2028.[22] The plan was for coal-fired power generation at Pecém I to be replaced by clean energy (such as green hydrogen) by 2028.[22]

Coal Supply

The Pecém I plant has historically run on coal imported from the United States, Colombia, China and Japan.[23]

Ownership Change Pecém I

The Pecém I plant was originally developed by Porto do Pecém Geração de Energia S.A. (also known as Energia Pecém[24]), a subsidiary of EDP (Energias de Portugal, S.A.).[25]

In September 2023, EDP signed an agreement to sell 80% of its stake in Pecém I to the Brazilian investing group Mercurio Asset.[26][27] While the sale price was unknown at the time, the agreement reportedly stipulated conditions for the sale of the remaining 20% before the end of the current energy contract's duration.[27] The power station had reportedly not been operating for the past 16 months due to the high capacity of local hydroelectric reservoirs.[28] The sale was concluded in late 2023.

In 2025. Diamante Geração de Energia acquired Mercurio's 80% stake in the Pecém I plant, and reached a separate agreement to acquire EDP's remaining 20% stake.[29] The sale of EDP's 20% was still subject to regulatory checks and other conditions.[30] Diamante Energia concluded the acquisition process in July 2025, thereby assuming 100% ownership of the Pecém I plant.[31][32]

Prospects for retirement or conversion of Pecém I from coal to alternative fuels

In 2024, Mercurio Asset signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government of Ceará to convert the Pecém I plant to run on fossil gas rather than coal.[33] However, as of January 2026, neither of Pecém I's coal-fired units had a fixed retirement date.

While the plant is authorized to operate until January 2044[34], its contracts within Brazil's regulated electricity market will expire in July 2027[34][35], and its coal supply contracts are also set to expire that same year.[23] Since 2023, Pecém I's owners have studied multiple scenarios for converting the plant's fuel supply from coal to alternatives including green hydrogen[22], natural gas[23][34] and biochar.[36][37] In July 2025, new owner Diamante Energia signaled its intent to enter Brazil's next national energy auction in hopes of securing a contract for a 1.3 GW gas-fired unit at Pecém, but a clear conversion plan for the coal-fired units had yet to emerge as of January 2026.

Pecém II

A newer addition, the 365 MW Pecém II plant, owned 50% by Eneva[38] and 50% by E.ON, completed its testing phase in June 2013 and received ANEEL's authorization to begin commercial operations in October 2013.[39][40] Eneva's current electricity generation concession for the Porto do Pecém plant expires in December 2027.[41]

Coal Supply

The power station runs on imported coal[42], received through the Port of Pecém.

Prospects for retirement or phasing out coal use at Pecém II

Eneva CEO Pedro Zinner, in a May 2019 interview with Brazil Journal, said that Eneva had no further plans to invest in coal and that he expected coal to play a diminishing role in the company's footprint over time, despite the fact that Eneva's coal-fired power plants, including Porto do Pecém and the MPX Itaqui power project, had generated a profit for the first time in 2018.[43]

In an October 2020 interview with Capital Reset, Eneva CEO Pedro Zinner reiterated the company's commitment to phasing out new investment in coal-fired power plants, but left open the possibility of continuing to operate the Pecém plant beyond 2027 if Brazilian demand for electricity exceeds supply from other sources.[44]

In 2022, Eneva S.A was the first utility in Brazil to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance, officially committing the company to phase out coal power generation by 2040.[45]

Corporate reports issued by Eneva in early 2022 and 2023 reconfirmed the company's commitment to phase out all coal assets by 2040[46][47][48], and to limit new coal investment to the currently operating Itaqui and Porto do Pecém power stations.[47][49] Eneva's 2024 annual report, while not specifically reiterating the 2040 coal phase-out date, noted that the company was studying conversion of the Itaqui and Pecém plants from coal to fossil gas, and had determined that a fuel conversion project would be technically feasible if gas supply bottlenecks could be overcome.[42]

As of January 2026, Eneva had announced no clear retirement date for the Pecém II plant specifically.

Financing

Financing for Pecém I

In February 2008, a financing agreement for Pecém I was closed. US$279.38 million in loans were provided by ING Group, Citigroup, Millennium BCP, WestLB, Banco do Brasil, and Haitong Bank. US$365.68 million in equity was provided by EDP Group and ENEVA. Citigroup acted as financial advisor to the sponsor for the deal.[50] In July 2009, a second financing agreement for Pecém I was closed. US$1,039.19 million in loans were provided by the Inter-American Development Bank, BNDES, Credit Agricole Group, Millennium BCP, and Caixa Geral de Depósitos. US$544 in equity was provided by EDP Group and ENEVA. Citigroup aagin acted as financial advisor to the sponsor for the deal.[51] Finally, in 2016, EDP Group announced that it has voluntarily prepaid the entire amount of the loan agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) by contracting two new loans in the total amount of R$ 480 million and the capital injection by EDP in Pecém in the amount of R$ 500 million.[52]

Financing for Pecém II[53]

In January 2009, a financing agreement for Pecém II was closed. US$131.88 million in loans was provided by Bradesco, Citigroup, Santander, Itau-Unibanco, and Banco Votorantim. Citigroup acted as financial advisor for the sponsor.[54]

Proposed expansion projects and alternative fuels

In October 2017, EDP Vice President Luiz Otavio announced that his company was considering development of a new R$1.5-billion unit to be fueled with Colombian coal, either at the existing Porto do Pecém location or at a separate location in one of two competing (but unnamed) Brazilian states.[19][55] However, this new coal unit was never developed.

In late 2022, EDP announced that it would begin developing a pilot green hydrogen plant within the Porto do Pecém power complex in 2023.[56][57] In February 2023, EDP Brazil announced that they had already begun green hydrogen power generation at Pecém I and planned to completely replace coal-fired power with green hydrogen by 2028.[22]

In August 2024, Energia Pecém's new owners, Mercurio Partners, announced plans to transition Pecém I from coal to natural gas, and eventually to green hydrogen.[58][59][33] A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was published on August 21, 2024 between the government of Ceará and Energia Pecém to aid the company in transitioning the power station away from coal use and later from fossil fuels entirely.[60] The first transition from coal to natural gas use at the power station was expected to take between six and 36 months to begin.[58]

An unrelated report in August 2024 stated that an additional MoU had been signed between Energia Pecém and the State University of Ceará to study a hybrid mineral coal, made with coal and coconut biomass, for potential use at the Pecém power station.[61]

In a February 2025 interview, CEO Carlos Baldi affirmed that the conversion of coal-fired power to gas, in itself, would not be a challenge and would require minimal intervention; however, he noted that supply chain restrictions for turbines and other equipment could pose challenges in terms of equipment availability.[62] The 2028 target date for completion of conversion was not confirmed by the plant's owners, but was assumed to remain the same. Energia Pecém's 2024 sustainability report mentioned a gradual transition to natural gas and eventually, to hydrogen.[63]

In February 2025, Mercurio Partners announced that it planned to submit two separate bids in Brazil's forthcoming energy auctions: one for the conversion of the existing 720 MW Pecém I plant from coal to gas, and another for a 1.3 GW greenfield fossil gas plant at the Port of Pecém.[62] In July 2025, new owner Diamante Energy confirmed its plans to move forward with the 1.3 GW greenfield project.[31]

In November 2025, Diamante Energia and Eneva announced that they planned to submit a joint bid in Brazil's March 2026 energy auctions to develop a 1 GW or larger gas plant at the Port of Pecém.[64] It was not immediately clear whether the companies' plans involved conversion of existing infrastructure from coal to gas, or development of a new greenfield project[65]; nor was it clear how this new joint venture related to the 1.3 GW expansion project previously announced by Diamante Energia.

Environmental impact

In May 2019 it was announced that 43 families living near the Pecém port and industrial complex would receive compensation for their exposure to coal dust from the plant. The impact on these families was not addressed by the plant's original Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).[66]

Articles and Resources

References

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Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.