Aneel has officially revoked five solar energy projects in Goiás and Rio Grande do Norte, totaling 178.6 MW of capacity that will not move forward.
The National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel) granted the request from Spic and Quasar on Friday, October 9, to cancel authorizations for photovoltaic ventures. The decision reflects a portfolio readjustment by these companies in a scenario where technical and strategic viability has become the primary filter for new investments in renewable sources.
In total, the measure removes 178.6 MW of installed capacity that was scheduled to be integrated into the National Interconnected System (SIN). While one of the companies opted for an internal strategic review, the other ran into severe structural limitations imposed by the country’s energy transmission infrastructure.
Strategic Withdrawal in Goiás
In the state of Goiás, the canceled project was the São Simão photovoltaic plant, which had 48 MW of authorized capacity. The venture was scheduled to begin commercial operation in October 2027.
In its arguments submitted to the regulatory body, Spic was succinct in classifying the closure as a direct withdrawal from implementing the plant. The project was planned to operate near the reservoir of the hydroelectric plant of the same name, a 1.7 GW strategic asset operated by the company on the border between Minas Gerais and Goiás.
The decision not to proceed with the plant marks a departure from the company’s original plan, which sought to expand its solar matrix in the region, now focusing efforts on other investments, such as its recent win in a Capacity Reserve Auction for a new 310 MW generating unit.
Transmission Bottlenecks in Rio Grande do Norte
Unlike the case in Goiás, the suspension of the Quasar I, II, III, and IV plants, located in Santana do Matos (RN), was driven by technical motivations related to energy evacuation. The four units totaled 130.6 MW and became unfeasible in the face of connection restrictions identified by the National Electric System Operator (ONS).
The company based its request on studies by the Energy Research Office (EPE), which pointed to a critical overload on the 230 kV Lagoa Nova II-Paraíso transmission line. The bottleneck, projected to persist in contingency scenarios between 2027 and 2038, would prevent the safe and efficient operation of the plants.
The impact of these revocations serves as an important warning for the clean energy sector. Although Brazil possesses vast solar potential, the synchronization between renewable generation and the expansion of transmission lines, such as the projects planned under the Northeast Bipole II, remains the greatest challenge for consolidating new energy parks. Aneel‘s decision, therefore, prevents projects without guaranteed evacuation from taking up space in the country’s energy expansion schedule.
