The Brazilian energy agency EPE (Empresa de Pesquisa Energetica) and the Electric Energy Trading Chamber (CCEE) have allocated more than 1 GW of renewable power capacity under the framework of the A-4 energy auction (Leilão de Energia Nova A-4 / 2018), including 807 MW of solar power capacity, 114 MW of wind power, 61.8 MW of biomass and 41.6 MW of small-sized hydroelectric power facilities. A total of 29 solar projects have been selected at an average price of BRL118.07/MWh (approximately US$35.25/MWh), which is 62.2% cheaper than the ceiling price (BRL312/MWh or US$96.5/MWh). The selected projects will be commissioned by January 2022
The auction was the fourth of its kind held at the national level. In the previous four rounds held by the EPE between 2014 and 2017, around 3.5 GW of large-scale solar PV capacity was allocated. In the last auction of this kind, the ANEEL awarded a total of BRL5.6bn (US$1.7bn) of contracts to 25 power projects totaling 675 MW and expected to generate 39.1 TWh of electricity: most of the projects (20) were solar PV plants with a combined capacity of 574 MW and an average price of BRL145.78/MWh (US$43.9/MWh). The final average price stood at BRL144.51/MWh (US$43.7/MWh), a 54.65% discount on the established prices in average.