Urca Energia Comercializadora, together with Imetame Thermoelectric, is enabling one of the largest carbon credit operations in the Brazilian energy market. 2.3 million tons of carbon equivalent in canceled credits in favor of UTE Prosperidade III, controlled by the Imetame group, were acquired from the Teles Pires hydroelectric plant (MT/PA), controlled by Neoenergia. With this, the plant becomes the first carbon neutral thermoelectric plant in Brazil.  

It was a period of great interaction with regulatory agencies, especially the EPE, the Ministry of Mines and Energy and ANEEL, in which the concentrated efforts culminated in this beautiful result for all. Carbon credits were acquired in the process of voluntary cancellation of emissions, in a clear advance of the sustainability actions of the business groups involved in the initiative.  

With 50 megawatts (MW) of power, the Prospero III UTE is being built in Camaçari (BA) and is expected to go into operation in the second half of 2022. Initially designed to operate with biomass, the UTE was adapted for natural gas, which required a total compensation plan for greenhouse gas emissions to obtain the approval of regulatory agencies for the project.  

"Teles Pires is one of the most efficient plants in Brazil, generating clean energy, which does not emit greenhouse gases and generates credits that can help other companies offset their emissions. This project has been approved since 2012, demonstrating the solid commitment of Teles Pires and Neoenergia to contribute to the fight against climate change, by assisting in the decarbonizationprocess", says the director of the Teles Pires UHE, Ana Granato.  

"The big difference is that we were able to put together a plan so that emissions, which would be offset over 23 years of the project, could be slaughtered at once, an unprecedented achievement in the carbon credits market and that demonstrates the entrepreneur's speed before regulators," says Pedro Assumpção, a partner at Urca Comercializadora.  

"For us, the Imetame Group, and also for the Regulatory Agencies, it was unprecedented to neutralize carbon by Prosperity III, which is under construction. Our group has in its essence the vocation for the development of its own social and environmental projects, such as the Reflorescer Program that acts in the recovery of ripable forests. So we understand that we are doing our part to build a better world." , says Chief Operating Officer Giuliano Favalessa.  

Carbon credits

The contracting was carried out using the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an emission compensation format created by the Kyoto Protocol. Through this initiative, the energy produced by the enterprise generates carbon credits, the Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). In all, the Teles Pires EPP issued 4.9 million tons of carbon equivalent in credits in 2021, referring to the generation of renewable energy at the plant between 2017 and 2018. In addition to the contract with Urca, Neoenergia negotiated credits with companies in the Netherlands and India. ​