Alexandre Silveira advocates doubling Brazil's thermal power plant capacity by 2034.
The Minister of Mines and Energy also defended environmental preservation. 'It's not about 'letting the cattle loose' nor ideological extremism disconnected from reality.'
247 - The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira (PSD), stated this Tuesday (25) that Brazil needs to double its thermal power plants and again defended oil exploration in the Equatorial Margin, which, according to Petrobras, will receive more than US$ 3 billion in investment by 2028. The company's business plan projects the drilling of 16 wells in the region, which passes through the following states: Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí, Maranhão, Pará and Amapá.
“It’s neither ‘letting the cattle loose’ nor an ideological extremism that has no connection with reality. We need to double our thermal power plants by 2034. That’s why I so strongly defend the Equatorial Margin,” said the minister at the CEO Conference Brazil 2025, an event promoted by BTG Pactual, in the city of São Paulo.
The expression "passar a boiada" (literally "let the cattle through") gained national attention in 2020 when the then Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles, held a ministerial meeting and asked the Jair Bolsonaro government to take advantage of the media's focus on the Covid-19 pandemic to approve "infra-legal deregulation and simplification reforms" in the environmental area and "let the cattle through." Currently, Salles is a federal deputy (Novo-SP).
According to Minister Alexandre Silveira, the goals for increasing the capacity of Brazil's thermal power plants do not imply a lack of commitment to environmental preservation. "There's no point in talking about ceasing the production of fossil fuels, especially oil, since the issue of oil is not a matter of supply, but of demand. As long as the world demands it, we cannot be the ones to stop supplying it."
The minister defended the exploration of the Equatorial Margin "within an environmental legislation that is already extremely modern and safe." "We must always seek common sense and dialogue, building convergence around this process. Economic development with sustainability and social results is entirely possible," he continued.
At the event, the minister said that "Brazil is already doing its part on the issue of sustainability." "The country should be proud of its energy matrix and its public policies in the electricity sector. But we need to be rational about this, because there is still much to be done."
In March 2024, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) reported that oil production in the Equatorial Margin has the potential to create 326.049 new formal jobs, add R$ 65 billion to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and contribute R$ 3,87 billion to indirect tax revenue in Brazil.
CAP
The federal government relaunched the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) in 2023. Including all investments, the PAC foresees R$ 1,7 trillion in investment across all Brazilian states.
According to the PAC proposal, R$ 73,1 billion will be invested in energy generation. Of this total, R$ 8,1 billion will be applied to thermal energy, with three gas-fired plants and two using renewable sources. The new plants will add 4.290 MW of power to the electrical system, the government reported.
In the case of clean and renewable energy, there will be 343 public and private projects for the construction of photovoltaic, wind, and hydroelectric power plants. The new projects will add 18.367 Megawatts (MW) to the electrical system.
Photovoltaic power plants, which use sunlight to generate electricity, will account for 8.569 MW, more than half of the energy generation projected by the New PAC (Growth Acceleration Program). The investment will be R$ 41,5 billion. The confirmed projects are located in the states of Bahia, Ceará, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Rio Grande do Norte.
Wind power generation will receive R$ 22 billion, with 120 projects. The winds will be responsible for increasing the electrical grid capacity by 5.202 MW. The turbines will be installed in the states of Bahia, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Rio Grande do Norte.
Also confirmed are 20 new small hydroelectric power plants in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Paraná, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul. The investment will reach R$ 1,3 billion.
