New Hampshire, USA -- As renewables across leading global markets strive toward grid parity, wind may have just become the cheapest option in Brazil.
In a government energy auction on Wednesday, 44 wind developers saw their bids accepted at an average price of 99.58 reais per megawatt-hour. That converts to about $62.07. Those wind developments would total more than 1,000 megawatts MW of new capacity. The Brazilian government also accepted bids for one hydro plant (102 reais, $63.58), four biomass plants (102.41 reais, $63.83) and two using natural gas (103.26 reais, $64.36).
According to the Global Wind Energy Council, Brazil had just under 1,000 MW of installed capacity by the end of 2010. The country has seen strong growth in projects under construction and under development, and Wednesday’s news is expected to increase the nation’s wind energy efforts.
The news came on the same day that Danish wind giant Vestas announced that it was opening its first assembly plant in Brazil.