BioGas

Opportunities for environmental services and equipment tied to renewable bio-energy are extensive in Sao Paulo and by extension in Rio de Janeiro. There is a long history of producing electrical energy with biogas from to reduce pollution sugar cane waste. The old technology was deliberately designed to be inefficient so that waste consumption could be maximized.  Now the situation has changed to favour efficiency.

The current energy shortage has created awareness of benefits from diversification in energy sources to lessen dependence on unpredictable hydroelectric energy. In addition there is a national desire to reduce consumption of imported oil, perhaps by converting the tens of thousands of buses in Sao Paulo to electricity.

There is a real and potentially tangible opportunity here for more efficient technology to increase gas production from existing sources of raw materials. The administrative systems are in place in Brazil for using this technology and the need is there, and well recognized.

Small Hydro

In the 1960’s when the giant hydro projects came on line, Brazil stopped developing small hydro, and decommissioned many old plants. Now with the only remaining undeveloped large sites in the remote and heavily forested North, in the Amazon basin, the economics of small hydro are again favourable.

The country has now a major program for development and refurbishment of small hydro. States and municipal government are developing projects in which Canadian technology could take part. There is also opportunity for investment, particularly by large firms experienced in dealing with complicated overseas contracts; the tax structure for foreign investment and services may be a disincentive at the small scale of single plants.

During this mission we visited six small hydro plants. All of these could benefit by some form of instrumentation and automation that is available from Canadian companies. Within the plants, new electronic control systems would improve the reliability and protection of the electrical facilities. Outside, there is an overall need for automated systems that can acquire environmental data and turn it into information to improve the operation of existing small hydro facilities and their reservoirs.

Education is a priority, for renewable energy awareness among the public and for small hydro engineering. We visited the federally funded Institute for Engineering (EFEI) in Itajuba in the state of Minas Gerais where there is a small but growing program that is expected to lead to accreditation as a Polytechnic University within the next two years. EFEI is the national Centre for Renewable Energy and Small Hydro (CERPCH), receiving support from government and from industry.

EFEI’s renewable energy program includes development of an elementary school program similar to that being developed by NRCan, and graduate engineering research programs in small hydro, micro hydro, and biogas energy specialities. Universities and experts could contribute substantially to the quality of these educational and research programs. EFEI would be a good place to start because of the strong leadership there and the enthusiastic support of the faculty for collaboration with Canada.

Foreign companies and others have operated successfully in Brazil for many years; now there are exciting new opportunities. Foreign investments in renewable energy research and development have led to technologies that have application in Brazil. The recognized need is there, along with the financial capabilities and administrative structures to facilitate implementation.

Although Brazil has almost 12 million people with no electricity at all, there are over 75 million sophisticated consumers within the population of 170 million. Thus, there is an immediate market for energy technology and the potential for growth for many years into the future. The challenge will be to develop the relationships that provide business advantages that open opportunities for collaboration.

Dec 5 Briefing in Sao Paulo

More foreign energy businesses may not be operating in Brazil because of the complex tax structure for foreign business. Knowledgeable lawyers and accountants are essential in structuring a contract for work in Brazil. The government requires a holdback of 25 percent on services provided by foreign companies. This needs to be worked into the companies' tax strategy back in home.

Investments in small hydro may be difficult because of the "normative value" for energy. This is tied to the Brazilian cost of living but not to the foreign exchange rate. Future revenues in dollars will not depend solely on good planning and management - there is a political dimension. At present, there is a US$ 35/ Mwh cap on small hydro energy. This may become US$ 92 for photovoltaic energy. Step 1 is for hydro greater than 5 Mw. Step 2 is for the rest. Legislation being considered in CDE will include small hydro in the energy benefit account setup for oil-fired plants.

Dec 6 The Meeting in Sao Paulo

The full meeting began in the auditorium of the hotel with about 50 Canadian and Brazilian officials and consultants attending to hear presentations. A reception and luncheon provided opportunities for personal contacts. Armando Shalders Neto, the coordinator for planning and energy policy of the state of Sao Paulo provided an in depth introduction to the Brazilian energy sector. He mixed in the expected statistical information with observations on opportunities and the likely trend of things to come. At present, the country is in a severe electrical energy shortage because of the low water in reservoirs. The move toward deregulation is underway but slowly crawling ahead. There is a large potential for new generation in the Amazon basin but the forest and transmission to the load center in the south are obstacles.

In the short term, the plan is to develop 7800 Mw in 21 new plants. This includes bidding by private developers for eleven plants that would provide an additional 2660 Mw by 2003. The national program will develop 850 Mw of small hydro by 2003. For certain there will be an additional 250 Mw developed in the state of Sao Paulo and possibility for 650 Mw more.

At present there 64 small hydro plants in the state providing a total capacity of 344 Mw. Most of these were constructed in the 1920's and 1930's. Thirty small plants with a total of 56 Mw were decommissioned in the 1960's when the big hydro stations came into service. In summary, there are opportunities for business in the refurbishment of many old small hydro plants and to provide equipment and services for the new ones that are going ahead right now.

Negotiations began in 1936 with Bolivia for transmitting natural gas to Brazil and the current plan is for a 30 million cubic meters per day pipeline based on  "70 % take or pay" or "60 % ship or pay". It should be complimentary to the seasonality of hydro but this is not possible because of the "or pay" contracts. The direct use of gas in industries will improve the quality of certain products like ceramics. An anchor user is needed to pay for the pipeline before it will go ahead. There are 15 natural gas generation projects underway that will provide 6400 Mw before 2003. The 7 projects in Sao Paulo will amount to 4400 Mw.

Plans include developing cogeneration (congeracao) to replace some of the diesel in Sao Paulo.

Environmental Licensing (ambientais) takes place in parallel with project development and strategic issues are not involved. Impact analysis is the only consideration. There are no emission standards (padroes de emissao) but areas already saturated with pollution need some standard. There are some conflicts with water use for cooling.

Biogas (bagacao) is produced from 28 % of the 220 million tonnes of sugar cane produced annually. The 128 distilleries produce a total of 850 average Mw of which only 80 Mw goes to the grid. These are old inefficient boilers originally designed to get rid of the waste from the distilleries so their efficiency is very low. The potential is there for up to 1500 Mw in the short time. The existing 30 -40 KwH/tonne can be easily raised to 60 KwH/tonne with reasonable investments. However, with more money the total could be raised to 4000 Mw from sugar cane waste.

Biogas is a mature technology and 60,000 tonnes/day could be used. At present 85 % is just thrown away. The generating service area of Sao Paulo has 578 to 600 municipalities that can provide waste for biogas production of 520 Mw. Vegetable oils are used in research projects to produce a diesel fuel for the remote areas. In the North 27 % of the population lack electricity (elsewhere we learned that 11 million Brazilians have no electricity). Alternative sources include rice, wood residues, pulp and paper, and old tires.

Utilization of biogas depends on seasonal availability, April thru November so diesel is need to provide continuity of supply. The integration with hydro has not been worked out. One idea is to provide a "water credit" to the sugar biogas operators for the period when water is available. Other concepts are to provide state subsidies for the contribution to hydro production, and to allow for liquefaction (?) of sugar cane gas. Brazil is looking to other technologies available from other countries.

Wind (eolica) energy has a potential for 1050 Mw and there are 9 or 10 small plants. The potential in the north has not been analyzed. Wind generators are manufactured in Sao Paulo. There is a need to coordinate the wind production with hydro operations. The state of Cears has a theoretical potential of 25,000 Mw and studies are underway to inventory other states.

Photovoltaic energy benefits from the PRODEEM program which donates equipment to remote areas. The "normative value" currently is a very low ceiling on the tariff that can be passed on to consumers. There are 64 systems in operation and the first one in Sao Paulo is just now being inaugurated. There is now an institute for photovoltaic - IRES.

In the evening over snacks and drinks at the residence of Jean-Michel Roy the Canadian Consul-General. There were opportunities to get to know the Brazilian businessmen and the Canadian officials who helped to organize the meeting.

Dec. 7/8 The Falls at Iguassu and the Dam at Itaipu

The Falls are indeed spectacular and deserving of their reputation. There is wildlife in this area, although the only wild animals we saw were a family of anteaters. We had assurances from the Brazilian authorities before leaving Sao Paulo that we would be able to visit Itaipu. However, unfortunately we could not visit the Itaipu project because of a holiday in adjacent Paraguay. Literature about the project was obtained from the information center.

Dec 9 Drive from Sao Paulo to Itajuba

Professor Dr. Geraldo Lucio Tiago Filho, his wife, and daughter met us at the Sao Paulo airport and drove us the three or four hours west to Itajuba where EFEI is located - Escola Federal de Engenharia de Itajuba.

Dec 10 EFEI - Energy Education in Itajuba

The presentation to EFEI staff and students on renewable energy and the Canadian goal for collaboration with Brazil by Claude Barraud, Tony Tung was enthusiastically received. Chuck Howard presented two lectures - one on hydrology of ungauged streams and the other on the overview of what it takes to develop a decision support software system for hydro operations.

Professor Tiago, his faculty, and a local turbine manufacturer, are proposing to invite a Canadian expert to collaborate on developing and teaching a course and developing computer software on optimization of hydro operations and water management. The Luis Diaz hydro plant will be the test bed for the software and a showcase for others. The course would become part of the engineering curriculum at the Institute and would be publicized and made available in the Portuguese language to other academic institutions in Brazil.

The lectures were followed by an exhausting tour of the energy laboratory, featuring thermal power generation from steam and biogas, and hydropower. A complete 500Kw small hydro plant connected into the local distribution grid provides student experience with synchronization operation within a real power system. The insurance costs must be fantastic, but the students that survive are probably useful. Waterpower is provided by the recirculating pumps in the lab. The students can test a variety of turbine types and gain experience with the electrical control equipment. The lab includes a power plant boiler and a biogas generation facility. A facility for testing units is under construction as part of the national small hydro program. Prof. Tiago showed us a micro hydro unit housed in a farmer's milk can.

Professor emeritus Zulcy de Souza sold us copies (US$20 each) of his new book on small hydro developments and provided a computer graphic of the Rio Tocantins 21,390 Mw system in the North.

In the evening, the University hosted a dinner for us at a local restaurant with good food and great music.

Dec 11 Four Hydro Plants of Pocos de Caldas

Accompanied by Prof. Tiago, his wife, and Fabiana our interpreter (the daughter of an Engineering Faculty member), we left the Hotel Cordados in Itajuba at 08:00 for a 2.5-hour drive to Pocos de Caldas city, which sits in the caldea of an extinct volcano. There we were met by Eng. Flavio Jose Azevedo, the Director of Generation for the Departmento Municipal de Electricidade. He took us briefly around the downtown area before heading for the hydro plants.

The Departmento Municipal de Electricidade was established in 1954. It now has an extensive hydroelectric capability. It will own 20 percent of a 1000 Mw plant which will begin operating later this year. The new plant straddles the Rio Grande do Sul in two states, Minas Gerais and Santa Catarim. Other plants include 20 Mw Machadinho, 16% 0f 600 Mw and 12% of 200 Mw.

The Departmento operates a storage reservoir (no generating station) and four small downstream hydro plants (PCH - pequinos centralo hidraulicos, roughly) on the Antes River within the City. This is a tributary of the Pardo River, which meets the Grande River just above the huge Furnas hydro station, which ends up in the Parana River and the Itaipu hydro plant, the largest generating station in the world. We visited all four of these small plants, which provide 40-percent of the city demand for electricity.

The upstream dam (Barragem dor Riberao do Cipo) and 4.5 sq km reservoir  (Represa Lindolpho Pio da Silva Dras) on the Antas River provides 32 million cubic meters of storage for reglation over a 20-meter range for the downstream generating stations. There is the potential here for a 6.5 Mw development adjacent to the rock fill dam. A hydraulic jump spillway provides the outlet to the river and the four downstream small hydro power plants.

Represa Bortolan is the first of the four generating stations. It has a substantial head pond topped up with permanent concrete flashboards that were said to withstand overtopping. This reservoir seems completely dedicated to recreation and aquatic amenities for the many houses that surround it, and supports at least one marina with unrestricted recreational boating.

A short penstock connects the reservoir to the power plant, which was constructed in 1986. A single 800 Kw rated Voith S-bulb turbine operates under 12 meters of head to produce 715 Kw from a Negini (Italia) generator with out put at 2200 Volts and 238 amps. The output is limited by cavitation but this problem may be solved when the second powerhouse is installed alongside the existing tailrace. While we were there, the stub penstock for the second unit was spilling a great fountain into the river. Large white birds sitting on the rocks in the river were enjoying the sunlit spray and perhaps the fish that it flushed out of the reservoir. The nominal plant discharge is 2 cubic meters per second so the river flow may have been twice this.

The second plant in the series, Empressa Joacaba, is on the end of a long penstock running downhill alongside the main road. There is virtually no head pond at the diversion point. Partway along the penstock is a stubby looking surge tank perhaps 300 meters upstream from the Obirijada Machado de Moraes powerhouse. The plant was constructed in 1985. It operates under 30.2 meters of head to pass 3.5 cms through the single unit. The plant discharge joins the spill from above to flow in a stone lined canal that provides a scenic feature right through the city. An unused monorail system sits above the canal for much of its length.

The third plant is located in a suburban park featuring the Antes waterfall. The first power station at this location was a 25 Kw installation constructed in 1898, two years after the first hydro plant in the USA, we were told. It is now a ruins with the roots of trees reaching down from the top of the stone walls of the small roofless building that stands beside the falls, isolated and lonely in a dark forest clearing partway up the hillside.

Further down the hillside from the ruin is the third plant in the cascade. Two buildings here house the units. The first of these contains units that began operation in 1911, now called Unit 5 and Unit 6. The turbines were made by J. M. Voith in Heidenheim (Unit 5 is number 4362). The generators were from the Brazilian arm of Oerlikon of Zurich. The three units in the "new" building are by Escher Wyss. The units are controlled manually, like all of the others in the cascade system. A small building here contains a photo display, architect type models of the hydro setting, and maps of the overall Antes River hydro complex.

Below the powerhouses, the scenic Antes (anteater) park and the waterfall, a lovely curving low dam diverts a portion of the river into a long penstock leading to the fourth powerhouse. Spill over the graceful weir onto a short rock ledge and then continues vertically 10 meters or more directly onto the rocky canyon bottom. A surge tank stands tall on the brow of a steep break in the hillside before the penstock plunges on down to the fourth powerhouse, the Walther Rossi station.

Walther Rossi, constructed in 1998, sits in a lovely agricultural valley with the hillsides covered in coffee plantations. It has three of Alstom's 5.641 Mw Francis units with Siemens generators. Each of these can pass 3.87 cms under 161 meters of head.

There is a SCADA available but it is only for the substation at the end of the line. All four plants all staffed and operated manually.

Large wooden crates throughout the powerhouse contain the units for a fifth power plant, Rolodor, which is on another river near the boundary of the Municipality. This three unit 8 Mw plant will have double Francis runners passing 19 cms under a head of 50 meters.

After a brief stop at the head office of the Departmento to pick up some literature we headed back to Itajuba, arriving at 21:00 to stroll down to the town's lively square for a beer and a pizza after a tiring but interesting day.

Dec. 12 EFEI’s Luis Diaz Small Hydro Plant

In the early morning, we drove for about an hour to the Luis Diaz small hydro plant, which is owned and operated by EFEI. Professor Angelo Staho Jr. is the site engineer. The plant was constructed on the Rio Lorences Velho in 1914. It was turned over gratis to the University in 1993 when the utility considered it to be scrap after a major flood in 1990 had destroyed part of the 140-meter long power canal. Two of the three 2.4 Mw units are now operating thanks to financial support from alumni including a former president of Electobras, and private industry. The electronic controls were donated in 1998 by GE-Multilin of Canada. The university is now working towards automation and hoping to get to complete remote control.

The head is 19 meters and the total discharge is about 10 cms in two penstocks. There is a strange penstock arrangement - one of the two goes around the plant from the back and enters at the front of the building. In 1914, the heavy steel German made penstocks were delivered by oxen. The diversion structure at the head of the power canal is an interesting arrangement based on a small gravity arch dam. There is a good site along the power canal where a small off take for a penstock could supply a test stand for micro hydro units.

This facility provides power to the grid; it also is used for teaching. There are four good buildings available for student residences, a care taking staff, and a schoolhouse. The schoolhouse is used to teach basic skills to elementary school children in the local villages. For this the U has a full time person developing curricula with science and engineering as the media for learning to read and write. There is none of that "see Spot run" stuff for this group. Inside the schoolhouse, the children have put up drawings and posters explaining their ideas about renewable energy.

Beside the schoolhouse, there are working models of a hydraulic ram, a rope wheel pump, and a water lever rice mill. The hydraulic ram is built around an inverted empty plastic Pepsi bottle. A lift-pump consists of a knotted rope around the rim of a bicycle wheel. The rope passes through a plastic pipe. When the wheel is cranked by hand, the knots on the rope lift a substantial flow of water up about 2 meters through the pipe. The hydraulic ram pumps a very small flow up about 5 meters through a rubber hose attached to the top of a tree. The third device is a rice-stamping mill consisting of a large (2 meter long) wooden spoon mounted over a fulcrum. Water flows into the bowl of the spoon at one end of the lever. When the bowl of the spoon fills, it tips and suddenly empties its contents. As the teeter-totter falls back and drives a hammer into a container of rice. Voila! Perpetual motion, although feeble at the scale of this device.

Other buildings are dormitories for the students - the place is a one-hour drive from the University, partly over very rough unpaved mountain roads. Another building will be equipped as a water quality lab as part of the ecology program at the site. This program includes restoring the natural habitat that was cleared away for farms and ranches. The natural reseeding taking place has already reformed a big chunk of the valley hillsides into dense forest. It's a beautiful remote setting, complete with data transmission via satellite to the University, and of course, worldwide satellite television reception. One hillside has been left uncultivated for natural revegetation to restore the forest environment. A row of trees has been planted along the North side of the river to provide riparian shading.

The University has developed a pressure transducer water level sensor that operates accurately over the full range of river levels. It is intended to convert one of the outbuildings to a water quality lab.

There is a site for a dam further downstream and the dream of Professor Tiago is to develop it to provide all of the power needed by the university. It looks like the reservoir would flood about ten farms, so this may offer quite a comprehensive educational opportunity for the good professor. His dream might become a reality because of the current energy crises and the growing demand for electricity - 11.7 million people in Brazil are completely without electricity.

Dec. 12 Weceslauz Braz Small Hydro Plant

In the afternoon we bumped our way along through a pleasant and scenic valley to a military installation, the Bicas hydro plant in the village of Weceslauz Braz, complete with guards, guns, and security clearances.

This is a hydro site developed in 1932 by the Germans to supply power to the armaments and explosives factory in a nearby village (not too close, just in case). Energy from the plant supplies Itajuba and the armament factory, which is still in production. Both it and the hydro station, including the original metal and wood working equipment in the machine shops, are operated by the Brazilian military. In Brazil, there is one year of compulsory military service for 19 year olds, and 18 months for those that accepted commissions as officers. We were signed in and escorted by Capt. Gerard Mendes, an old army buddy of Prof. Tiago. This is Tiago's hometown. We leafed through a big book of historical photos of medalled and jack booted Brazilian and Nazi officers and politicos at the opening ceremonies. There are photos of the school children, boys and girls in uniforms.

All of the generation equipment was made in Germany. It has a 1920's metallic appearance that is quite different from other generating units of earlier and later vintage. The generators are from ASEA. There are six original units operating under 103.5 meters of head on the end of 1600 meters of double penstock. Three of the units can produce 750 Kw, two are capable of 340 Kw and one has a capacity of 132 Kw. There are two dams upstream. The furthest upstream was constructed in 1950 and has a reservoir for regulating the river and a one unit 500 Kw hydro station that operates continuously.

The switching and transformer equipment was made by the Svenska works in Sweden, is housed in a separate small two story matching building. The low voltage side is downstairs (2200 volts) and the high voltage output side 33,000 volts) is reached by climbing an art deco spiral staircase to the second floor. The oil filled transformers were made by Svenska of Sweden.

The mechanical-electrical overload protection for four of the five generating units are still the original clicking and clacking device. Surge protection for the two long penstocks is a relief valve sitting adjacent to each turbine. The valve is linked by heavy steel coupling to the hydraulically operated mechanical governors on each unit. As the wicket gates move, the relief valve moves slowly in synch to maintain a constant pressure in the penstocks by spilling water out of the unit. The original control panel, a museum piece, is intact and appeared to be in use. The facilities, buildings and machinery, are starting to look shabby but the original high quality engineering standards show through the slow decay of the past 70 years.

There may be an opportunity to provide inflow forecasting and storage operations software. If it develops into something, it would be a collaborative project between someone in Canada (ahem!) and the University.

Dec. 12 Heading Home

From Weceslauz Braz we headed out on a long drive to Chales Restaurant and farm in a very remote heavily wooded valley at the end of a long narrow winding unpaved bumpy road. The mountains here are above 1200 meters so it was pleasantly cool, about 20 C. The farm's owner, a bachelor about 60 years old, is an energetic imaginative former resident of Rio with a great sense of humor. We conversed in a patois of English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, and sign language.

The "farmer" disposed of his urban assets and moved out here for a more simple and ecologically rewarding lifestyle. So far, he has developed a 25 Kw hydro plant to supply the farm, some guesthouses, and a wonderful cooking and feeding facility for guests. The six large circular trout rearing ponds receive water from the same diversion that serves the 14-inch diameter penstock leading down the hill to the powerhouse. We seem to be reading from the same book on "retirement". There are seven waterfalls on this heavily forested lovely property, and most of the trees are protected by law. However, at some point he managed to do enough logging to recover the cost of the property.

We hiked up a trail to visit some of the waterfalls and to experience the ecology of the forest and the birds. On emerging from the forest our band of photographers blazed away at the pair of copulating stick bugs attached to the back of my shirt. We shooed them off, depriving the female of a tasty meal and saving the male from certain death. The afternoon included a traditional Brazilian country style cookout - mostly meat, with background cowboy music and the roar of a waterfall.

Tiago did a great job of getting us completely mobilized in just a couple of days and then sending us satisfied and happy on our way. It will be difficult to match this hospitality when he comes to Canada.