| Part of the Global Coal Plant Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
| Related coal trackers: |
| This article is part of the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project. |
Itaqui power station (Usina Termelétrica Itaqui, Usina de biomassa Itaqui) is an operating power station of at least 364-megawatts (MW) in Itaqui, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. It is also known as UTE Termomaranhão, UTE Porto do Itaqui, MPX 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)[1] |
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- -- (1): -2.587312, -44.338353
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | Operating[2] | coal: unknown[3] | 360[2][3] | subcritical | 2013[2] | 2040 (planned)[4][5][6] |
| -- (1) | Operating[7] | bioenergy: agricultural waste (solids)[7] | 4.2[7] | – | 2001[7] | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| – | Eneva SA [100%][2][3] | Eneva SA [100.0%] |
| -- (1) | Eneva SA [100%][2][3] | Eneva SA [100.0%] |
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
Diferencial Energia, original developer of the Itaqui project, sold generation rights in March 2007 to Brazilian power holding company EDB [8], which in turn established a 50-50 partnership with Brazilian mining company MPX Mineração e Energia.[9] 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.[10]
In October 2012, the government environmental agency IBAMA (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente) granted the plant its operating license[11], 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. [12] 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.[13]
In September 2013, MPX Energia S.A. rebranded itself as Eneva S.A.[14] As of January 2021, Eneva S.A.'s two main shareholders were BTG Pactual and Cambuhy, each with a 22.93% stake.[15]
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.[16] Eneva's current electricity generation concession for the Itaqui plant expires in December 2026.[17]
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.[18]
In December 2023, Brazil's national electrical energy agency, ANEEL, extended the validity of the power station's environmental license until December 2027[19][20], and prolonged its commercial energy contracts until 2044.[19]
The Itaqui power station runs on imported coal[21], received through the Port of Itaqui.[22]
In March 2026, Eneva announced the sale of its other coal-fired power station, [[Porto do Pecém power station|Porto do Pecém II] in Ceará, to Diamante Energia for an enterprise value of approximately R$872 million, as part of a broader transaction that also involved gas projects and a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Porto do Pecém port complex. A source with knowledge of Eneva's strategy told Brazil Journal that the company had no intention of selling additional coal assets, describing the Pecém sale as specific to that transaction, and confirming that Itaqui was not included in any divestiture plans at the time.[23]
On March 18, 2026, Eneva won contracts for the Itaqui plant in Brazil's Capacity Reserve Auction, securing an annual fixed revenue of R$503,587,732 (US$85,8 million) for the plant through 2031. Itaqui was among 627 MW of coal-fired capacity contracted by Eneva in the auction, alongside the Porto do Pecém II plant.[24][25]
Coal phase-out
Eneva's commitment to phase out coal-fired power by 2040
In 2022, Eneva S.A was the first utility in Brazil to join the Powering Past Coal Alliance, thus pledging to phase out coal power generation by 2040.[26] Corporate reports issued by Eneva in 2022 and 2023 reconfirmed the company's commitment to phase out all coal assets by 2040[27][28][29], and to limit new coal investment to the currently operating Itaqui and Porto do Pecém power stations.[28][30] 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.[21]
Following the March 2026 sale of Porto do Pecém II, Itaqui remained Eneva's only coal-fired power station. A source with knowledge of the company's strategy stated that Eneva had no plans to divest the Itaqui plant.[31]
State regulation
In February 2026, Brazil's Chamber of Deputies reported that a bill under consideration would extend mineral-coal power plant concessions for 25 years from January 1, 2025 and guarantee power-purchase contracts until the end of 2050. The bill was not specific to Itaqui, but would affect coal-fired plants whose contracts were due to expire in the following years.[32]
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.[33] 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).[34][35]
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.[36]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ https://maps.app.goo.gl/sp19YrrR3eaPcvFVA.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/6c663f3b-ae5a-4692-81d3-ab23ee84c1de/900fb754-2ede-0e0a-e434-d88eeaee0fc4?origin=2.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://ri.eneva.com.br/en/assets/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/6c663f3b-ae5a-4692-81d3-ab23ee84c1de/f3328481-7040-7f27-253d-401c3075e563?origin=2.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240125082715/https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/6c663f3b-ae5a-4692-81d3-ab23ee84c1de/229c7257-3e2d-a00f-6a84-7a6991a69a88?origin=1. Archived from the original on 2024-01-25.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://poweringpastcoal.org/news/ppca-welcomes-its-first-utility-in-brazil/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 https://dadosabertos.aneel.gov.br/dataset/siga-sistema-de-informacoes-de-geracao-da-aneel/resource/11ec447d-698d-4ab8-977f-b424d5deee6a?filters=DscOrigemCombustivel%3ABiomassa.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "EDB buys Maranhão project generation rights,", Business News Americas, April 11, 2007.
- ↑ "Nossos Negócios - Itaqui". Eneva. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "EDB sells stake in Maranhão thermo project,", Business News Americas, October 17, 2007.
- ↑ "Ibama emite licença para Usina Termelétrica Itaqui", O Estado, October 29, 2012.
- ↑ "UTE Itaqui, da MPX, inicia operação comercial". TN Petróleo. February 5, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Plano de Desenvolvimento e Zoneamento do Porto do Itaqui (p 49)" (PDF). Porto do Itaqui. October 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Brazil's MPX Energia rebranded ENEVA". Power Engineering. September 19, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Shareholding, Governance and Corporate Structure". Eneva. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Viri, Natalia (May 20, 2019). "Cheia de gás, Eneva ganha respeito no mercado". Brazil Journal.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "2019 Sustainability Report". Eneva. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "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) - ↑ 19.0 19.1 Aneel posterga término de outorga e contratos da UTE Porto do Itaqui, da Eneva, MegaWhat, December 8, 2023
- ↑ "Apresentação Corporativa (p 35)". Eneva. 2025-12-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Relato Integrado 2024 (pp 27, 114)" (PDF). Eneva. 2025-06-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Conheça o processo de geração de energia da usina Itaqui". Eneva • YouTube. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Eneva faz negócio de R$ 1 bilhão com a Diamante, trocando carvão por gás". Brazil Journal. March 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Eneva (ENEV3) anuncia R$ 161,1 bi em receitas fixas com LRCAP 2026". Visno Invest. March 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Eneva, Petrobras e J&F abocanham metade da potência contratada no LRCAP". Eixos. March 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PPCA welcomes its first utility in Brazil". /poweringpastcoal.org. April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Apresentação Corporativa (pp 3, 32)". Eneva. October 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Relatório de Sustentabilidade 2021 (pp 3, 8, 22, 26, 32, 91)" (PDF). Eneva. June 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Relato Integrado 2023". api.mziq.com. 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "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) - ↑ "Eneva faz negócio de R$ 1 bilhão com a Diamante, trocando carvão por gás". Brazil Journal. March 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Projeto estende contratos de usinas a carvão mineral até 2050". Câmara dos Deputados. February 5, 2026. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Corporate Presentation". September 2008.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Brazil expands energy supply in Northeastern region with IDB financing". IDB. March 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 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.
- ↑ "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 interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker and the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
