Suape Complex to receive thermal power plant worth R$3bn

The Suape Complex will receive a thermal power plant that runs on liquefied natural gas (LNG). With an estimated investment of R$ 3 billion, the venture includes the installation of a regasification terminal in Suape in addition to the implementation of approximately eight kilometers of pipelines between the gas terminal and the thermoelectric plant. Between the construction and operations, the project is expected to create 2000 jobs.

The venture will be managed by CH4 Energia, a developer of projects in the energy sector, in partnership with the North American company, New Fortress Energy, founded in 2014 and currently valued at US$ 7.38 billion. The company operates in countries such as Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Nicaragua in the areas of LNG transportation, infrastructure, regasification terminals, power plants, and small-scale solutions. It is also currently developing an LNG terminal in Ireland to supply industrial customers.

Approximately 30% of the investment will come from the entrepreneur and 70% will come from development banks. The plant is expected to start operating in November this year, occupying an area of ​​16.5 hectares within the Suape Complex, where it already has a prior license issued by CPRH (the Pernambuco environmental agency).

“With the installation of the thermoelectric plant in Suape, the government of Pernambuco is also opening the doors towards a large regasification terminal for the state, offering gas at much more competitive prices to local industries,” said Governor Paulo Câmara. “With the new gas law by ALEPE (the Legislative Assembly of Pernambuco), a much larger contingent of companies could migrate to the free market and benefit from the new terminal, boosting expansions and new enterprises in the state”, he added.

In December 2020, the government of Pernambuco and CH4 Energia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to make the project feasible. The plant will have a generation capacity of 1.3 GW – which is 30% more than the Sobradinho hydroelectric plant – at the end of the project’s implementation, after holding an energy auction promoted by the National Electricity Agency and the Ministry of Mines and Energy which is forecast to occur in the first half of 2021.

With the long-term energy purchase and sale agreement signed with Petrobras to start the operation of two 144MW thermal power plants with a total generation capacity of 288MW, the project is already initially feasible for full implementation.

The thermal energy will be supplied by an LNG re-gasifier vessel, with a capacity of 21 million cubic meters per day, at the Multiple Use Wharf. The plant is expected to consume 2.5 million cubic meters a day, a potential that could be repeated in the future. The LNG surplus may serve COPERGÁS (the Companhia de Gás de Pernambuco network), a company that holds gas distribution rights in the state.

Source: Diário de Pernambuco

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