SAO PAULO (Reuters)-The theme of energy is one of the “greatest frustrations” of Steelland CEO Gerdau, Gustavo Werneck, who said on Wednesday that the company has been suffering cuts of generation in a solar park in Minas Gerais of about 70%.
The so -called “shortable”, one of the main problems of the Brazilian electricity sector, happens by limitations imposed by the National Electric System Operator (ONS) to wind and solar plants, for operative reasons such as bottlenecks in the power transmission network and other factors.
They impose millionaire financial losses on generators, but they have also reached so -called self -producers, such as Gerdau, which operates Solar Arinos Park, located in the city of the same name of Minas Gerais, in partnership with Newave Energia. The complex, inaugurated in mid -year, had investments of $ 1.5 billion.
“In solar energy, we put more than $ 1.5 billion in recent years in solar parks, has a park in the interior of Minas with over 750 thousand solar panels, aloco the capital, I look for money … here comes the operator of the system and starts cutting my parks,” said Werneck, during a presentation at Neosummit COP30, held on Wednesday in Sao Paulo.
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According to him, the park is “operating with short 70%.”
“I have difficulty understanding why Brazil is currently dispatcher to coal and we cannot operate our fully renewable parks,” he said.
For the executive, the situation mirrors that one of the “big headaches that the industrial, that the businessman in Brazil continues to have, is the theme of energy”. He also commented that Gerdau made “great investment” to produce all the steels necessary for the wind power industry, from the base of the airline to the main axis, and now “this industry is over”, referring to equipment producers that left Brazil.
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He also cited the price of gas from Brazil, which takes the competitiveness of the Brazilian steel industry.
“Natural gas, which is the most relevant input for bringing competitiveness to Brazilian industry to decarbonize, is still at an absurd price,” he said, citing that the company, which has been operating for over 30 years in the United States, pays $ 3 for millions of BTU there, while in Brazil the cost is $ 16.
Sought, Gerdau stated that the executive commented on the operation in Arinos, when talking about the cuts of generation. The company did not immediately commented on the damage due to the determination of the National Electric System Operator.
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The ONS did not comment on the topic immediately.
(By Roberto Samora)
