Thermal energy

To meet the growth of the Brazilian economy and the increase in energy consumption, the Federal Government estimates that it will be necessary to expand electrical generation by 40% by 2029, as indicated in the Ten-Year Energy Plan (2029). Energy planning also highlights the need to invest in energy sources with high availability and operational flexibility, ensuring the safe operation of the Brazilian electrical system. Each energy source has a fundamental role in the Brazilian electrical generation matrix, and thermoelectric energy allows greater operational flexibility and system reliability, aiming to provide greater security in the energy supply to Brazilians. Their storage and quick start characteristics allow thermoelectric plants to generate energy when other sources cannot, due to several factors. Thus, they act as a complement to water and alternative sources (wind, solar, biomass): when these are affected by natural factors (rain, wind, sun, among others), thermoelectric plants come into operation, ensuring that the energy reaches all. In this way, building thermoelectric plants also allows increasing investment in new alternative energy sources without overloading the Brazilian system.

Yes. The Energy Research Company (EPE) predicts that energy demand in Brazil will grow 3.6% per year until 2029. This growth represents an increase of 2,900 average MW annually and is necessary to meet the growth of the economy and the greater need for energy to guarantee production and consumption.

The Ten-Year Energy Plan – PDE (2029) predicts that during the next 10 years the participation of alternative sources (wind, biomass and solar) will double its share in Brazilian energy generation. Together with hydroelectric plants, these other sources play an important role, keeping Brazil in a strategic position in the world ranking of countries that have the majority of electrical generation from clean and renewable sources. They act at the generation tip, adding clean and renewable generation when there is an abundance of resources (wind, sun and others) and are complemented by hydro and thermoelectric plants in base generation when external factors reduce their resource.

The company EDF Brasil is known for its operations in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro, with a thermoelectric plant in operation in the region since 2004. This plant, UTE Norte Fluminense, represents one of the main EDF assets in Brazil and, throughout these Over the years, it has become a reference in the electricity sector for its reliability and availability, environmental and social responsibility in the region. Thus, marking the consolidation of the company's activities in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro, it was decided to use the name UTE Norte Fluminense 2 for this new project, not only due to the location's proximity, but also due to the commitment to maintaining the company's good practices.

In the current phase of the project, the socio-environmental viability of the project is under analysis by the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama). When the analysis is completed, Ibama will be able to issue the Preliminary License (LP). Only with LP can the UTE NF2 project be presented at the electricity auction. If the project is selected in the auction, the construction schedule will be defined. It is important to highlight that, before construction begins, it is necessary to obtain an Installation License from the environmental agency.

The construction of the plant is estimated to take around 4 years.

UTE NF 2 will produce an average of 1,100 job opportunities during the installation phase, reaching 1,800 at the peak of construction. For the operation phase, the estimate is 50 job vacancies. During maintenance downtime, it may be necessary to supplement the team by up to 100 more professionals.

Taking into account the profile of the labor available in Macaé, compatible with the civil construction and electromechanical assembly activities required by the works, the entrepreneur intends to guide the companies involved in the construction of the project in order to prioritize the hiring of local labor

Gas emissions from the chimneys of UTE NF 2 will be within the limits set out in legislation and would not impact air quality in such a way as to make it degraded. The hourly concentrations of NO2, even combined with emissions from other projects studied, are in accordance with the limits of legislation in more than 99.9% of the modeled events. This means that violations that may occur are classified as rare events (low probability of occurrence), associated with winds from the South and Southeast, with speeds below 0.5 m/s. Furthermore, based on the criteria of American legislation (very judicious and used as a global reference) which considers results that meet the standard to be included in 98% of modeled events, values above the standard according to the model result are not considered representative for the verification of the project's compliance with the limits of legislation (less than 0.1%).

There are no forest remnants in the areas directly affected by the implementation of the project. The ADA is made up of pastures, in its entirety. Thus, the vegetation suppression will basically be grasses, with the exception of the Plant's land, where 16 isolated tree individuals, which are dispersed in the pasture, will be removed.

EDF Brasil, the company responsible for the development of UTE NF2, has UTE Norte Fluminense in Macaé, which has been operating since 2004, using water collected from the Macaé River with a permit issued by the state agency, just downstream of the BR-101 bridge. . Over the years, UTE NF carried out several optimization measures at the existing plant, such as water rationalization, which led to a reduction in the use of the volume captured in relation to the total granted. Furthermore, the UTE NF2 project provides for refrigeration technology based on the aerocondenser system (ACC), which will reduce the need for water consumption by 90% for the operation of the plant when compared to the traditional wet tower. In this way, the project considers sharing the concession of the existing plant, not implying any additional compromise to the water availability of the Macaé River.

UTE NF 2 will have auxiliary structures that will cross some rural properties in the region, namely: a dedicated gas pipeline, a water pipeline and effluent and a transmission line. As these structures have a linear configuration, there will be no need for total expropriation of these properties. Regarding the gas pipeline, it is important to highlight that its route will share the right-of-way with the already licensed structure of UTE Nossa Senhora de Fátima, which already has a Prior License, reducing the impact on the region. In the case of the transmission line and water and effluent pipelines, the routes will cross properties neighboring UTE NF and UTE NF 2. Therefore, as the project phases advance, it is expected that rights of way will be negotiated to establish the rights of way for these structures. However, interference with the land structure will only be detailed in the executive project phase. In all cases, the process of acquiring rights of way may be carried out through direct negotiation or expropriation for public purposes.

During the construction phase, there may be an increase in traffic on the RJ-168, in the section between the Santa Tereza interchange and the city of Macaé. This increase is due to the daily transport of workers between the city and the construction site and, mainly, the transport of machinery and inputs from Macaé. This traffic could generate, during the installation period, an increase in the flow of vehicles by around 14% during peak hours and 11% during medium periods, mainly in the section between the city and the junction with the access road to the land (MC -089). Considering the current conditions of the RJ-168, the work on the Santa Tereza interchange, which is nearing completion, and other road projects in the region, it is estimated that the work's traffic will not produce a significant variation or change in the highway's usage patterns. .