Cooperation between ABRASOL and ABESCO

ABRASOL (Brazilian Solar Thermal Energy Association), and ABESCO (Brazilian Association of Energy Conservation Service Companies), met at the beginning of December to discuss a cooperation between the two associations to kickstart the solar process heat market in Brazil.

Alexandre Moana, President of ABESCO, consider that it is a great opportunity: “There is a long term potential in solar process heat projects for ABESCO´s members.” These are energy service companies partly subsidiaries of electricity utilities and partly independent consultant companies. ABESCO was founded in 1997 and has current 90 members. Today most of their activities are focused on electricity saving measures in public buildings and industry.

“To develop the solar process heat market in Brazil the solar thermal turnkey suppliers from ABRASOL could partner with ABESCO´s members to supply heat saving solutions to industrial clients,“ explains Marcelo Mesquita, Executive Secretary of ABRASOL.

Flat plate collectors are a mature, cost-effective and locally produced technology that can provide temperatures up to 80 °C which is used in the food and beverage industry, but also in textile manufacturing companies or for cleaning and drying in the automotive industry. “So far energy saving measures in the manufacturing sector in Brazil only concentrate on electricity saving. However, only 20 % of the final energy demand in the industry is electricity. It is time to develop energy saving strategies also for the large head demand in manufacturing businesses in Brazil,” claims Mesquita.

Frame conditions must be improved to get the solar process heat market going in Brazil, is Alexandre Heringer Lisboa, Director of the company Efficientia in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, convinced: „To get the solar process heat market going, we need cheap credit lines, we must supply guarantees as well as a technology that would generate heat cheaper than traditional plants.“ In the difficult financial situation the Brazilian industry needs attractive credit lines, because working capital is scarce.

Efficientia, a subsidiary of Minas Gerais’ largest utility CEMIG, was founded in 2002 with currently 20 staff. Heringer Lisboa confirmed that his company is increasingly serving electricity saving solutions to hospitals or chain stores, whereas before the financial crisis the key client group was medium and large industry.
Organisations mentioned in this article:

www.efficientia.com.br
www.abesco.com.br/
www.abrasol. org.br