Itaqui power station

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Itaqui power station (Usina Termelétrica Itaqui) is an operating power station of at least 360-megawatts (MW) in Itaqui, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. It is also known as MPX Itaqui, UTE Termomaranhão, UTE Porto do Itaqui.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Itaqui power station Itaqui, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil -2.587312, -44.338353 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

Loading map...


Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: -2.587312, -44.338353

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - unknown 360 subcritical 2013 2040 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Eneva SA [100.0%]

Background

Diferencial Energia, original developer of the Itaqui project, sold generation rights in March 2007 to Brazilian power holding company EDB [1], which in turn established a 50-50 partnership with Brazilian mining company MPX Mineração e Energia.[2] MPX bought EDB's stake and assumed 100% ownership shortly after Brazil's October 2007 A-5 energy auction, in which the Itaqui plant won a contract to produce an annual average of 315 MW of power over a 15-year period.[3]

In October 2012, the government environmental agency IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente) granted the plant its operating license[4], and in February 2013 the electrical agency ANEEL (Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica) authorized the plant to begin commercial operations, with an installed capacity of 360 MW. [5] As of 2017, the plant was responsible for 65% of energy consumption in Maranhão state, while also supplying electricity to Brazil's North region subsystem.[6]

In September 2013, MPX Energia S.A. rebranded itself as Eneva S.A.[7] As of January 2021, Eneva S.A.'s two main shareholders are BTG Pactual and Cambuhy, each with a 22.93% stake.[8]

Eneva's coal-fired power plants, including Itaqui and the Porto do Pecém power station, generated a profit for the first time in 2018. However, 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.[9] Eneva's current electricity generation concession for the Itaqui plant expires in December 2026.[10]

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 Itaqui plant beyond 2026 if Brazilian demand for electricity exceeds supply from other sources.[11]

Corporate reports issued by Eneva in 2022 reconfirmed the company's commitment to phase out all coal assets by 2040[12][13], and to limit new coal investment to the currently operating Itaqui and Porto do Pecém power stations.[13][14]

Reporting in December 2023 announced that the National Electric Energy Agency ("Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica," or ANEEL) had extended the power station's commercial energy contracts until December 2027.[15]

Financing

In 2008, MPX reported that it had invested US$698 million in capital expenditures in the project and had received US$160 million in loans.[16] In March 2009, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced that it gave US$50 million in loans to the project and would arrange further loans for the project from international banks, including Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES).[17][18]

Environmental impact

In mid-2016, the Federal Public Prosecutor's office for Maranhão state accused the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama of having significantly and inappropriately raised emissions limits for the Itaqui plant after the plant repeatedly released excessive levels of sulphur dioxide and other pollutants. Citing dangers to public health resulting from Ibama's tripling of the emissions limits, the Public Prosector's office called for the plant's license to be suspended or modified to bring emissions back into compliance with levels established in the plant's original Environmental Impact Assessment. A spokesperson for plant owner Eneva denied the Public Prosecutor's charges.[19]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. "EDB buys Maranhão project generation rights,", Business News Americas, April 11, 2007.
  2. "Nossos Negócios - Itaqui". Eneva. Retrieved 2023-01-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "EDB sells stake in Maranhão thermo project,", Business News Americas, October 17, 2007.
  4. "Ibama emite licença para Usina Termelétrica Itaqui", O Estado, October 29, 2012.
  5. "UTE Itaqui, da MPX, inicia operação comercial". TN Petróleo. February 5, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "Plano de Desenvolvimento e Zoneamento do Porto do Itaqui (p 49)" (PDF). Porto do Itaqui. October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Brazil's MPX Energia rebranded ENEVA". Power Engineering. September 19, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Shareholding, Governance and Corporate Structure". Eneva. Retrieved 2021-01-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. Viri, Natalia (May 20, 2019). "Cheia de gás, Eneva ganha respeito no mercado". Brazil Journal.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "2019 Sustainability Report". Eneva. Retrieved 2020-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "Eneva descarta novos investimentos em carvão, mas pode dar sobrevida a usinas existentes, diz CEO". Capital Reset. October 30, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "Apresentação Corporativa (pp 3, 32)". Eneva. October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. 13.0 13.1 "Relatório de Sustentabilidade 2021 (pp 3, 8, 22, 26, 32, 91)" (PDF). Eneva. June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. "Eneva promete sair de carvão até 2040 e investir em captura de CO2 e hidrogênio". Capital Reset. February 8, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. Aneel prorroga contrato de usina de energia do Porto do Itaqui, Portal BE News, December 8, 2023
  16. "Corporate Presentation". September 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "Brazil expands energy supply in Northeastern region with IDB financing". IDB. March 20, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. Ltda, Comunique-se Comunicacao Corporativa (2009-03-23). "IDB Approves Financing for Porto do Pecém I TPP and Porto de Itaqui TPP". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  19. "MPF-MA quer que usina do Porto do Itaqui reduza emissão de poluentes,", Rede Globo, July 7, 2016.

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.