GreenVolt wants to build two new biomass power plants
“We will make the necessary efforts to present a project” for new biomass power plants, Manso Neto said in an event on Thursday.
GreenVolt CEO, João Manso Neto, assumes that the new legislation, which guarantees tariffs for new biomass power plants, makes it attractive in the company’s eyes to build two new of these plants.
“We will make the necessary efforts to present a project” for new biomass power plants, Manso Neto said in an event on Thursday. On the same occasion, he mentioned that the company would consider building “one or two more plants”.
The recent decree-law provides for remuneration for power plants that contribute to fighting fires, said Manso Neto. “I will not say that we will win, but we have clear ideas of where there can be biomass plants: always near areas where there is a lot of biomass, such as the Algarve mountains or the north of the country. They are interesting areas,” he considered.
Without this legislation, the construction of the plants would be “impossible”, said the GreenVolt leader, because the market price is lower than marginal costs. “Why does it deserve a tariff? There is a social, fire-fighting effect here that has to be remunerated,” he stated.
Asked whether there is enough raw material, João Manso Neto said he believes there is, although “in small quantities and localised areas”.
Limits on gains from renewables do not affect GreenVolt
After EDP CEO admitted that a new tax on renewable energy producers in Romania could have a triple-digit impact on the company, Manso Neto explained GreenVolt is safe from these impacts.
As for the €180 per megawatt-hour limit set by the European Commission, it also does not affect GreenVolt “at all” in the European Union, as it only has plants operating with tariffs. In England, on the other hand, there could be some impact, depending on the decision the country takes. “When we did the project we were expecting a market price of £40. So if there’s a tax or a cap well above £40, I’m always better off. I’d much rather there wasn’t, but if there is, is it unfair? No. This is not just the economy, a person has to be reasonable. In England, I don’t know what they are going to impose, but I’m not worried.
At the same time, the supply of materials seems to be balanced, with no notable disruptions resulting from the pandemic. There is “some bad luck, but it’s not dramatic. More worrying is manpower,” he stated. To get around this effect, the company has signed medium-term contracts with some installers.
Simplification of licensing “helps but is not enough”
The new rules that simplify the licensing of renewable projects presented a few months ago “help, but it is not enough. The laws are well drafted, but on the ground, the bodies sometimes lack the necessary human resources,” Manso Neto said.
