Low prices no obstacle to Brazilian boom (original) (raw)

Responding to a Windpower Monthly question from the floor at this week's European Wind Energy Association conference in Barcelona, Spain, Fiuza said complaints about low prices — bottoming at $50.2/MWh — mainly came from the same developers whose offers originally pushed the price down.

Last year, none of the three wind auctions received less than 16GW in total offers.

"The offers are made in secret. Nobody knows what others are offering," said Fiuza. The process is "free and incorruptible" and final power purchase agreement contracts are made after the wind power seller is vetted to ensure the offer is bankable, he added.

Fiuzo said wind is "the most demanded [new] power source". With capacity factors as high as 60% — he claimed — coupled with steadily growing electricity demand and saturation in the large hydro market (which covers 80% of national power demand), Fiuza expects "2.5-3GW of new annual capacity from 2015 on".