Why Petrobras is investing in PV solar power

Brazil's national oil company Petrobras plans to install 55.5MW of PV solar power capacity at its oil refining facilities, the state-run firm's press office told BNamericas. 

The renewable energy generation plants will be deployed at the Paulínia refinery (Replan) in São Paulo state, Abreu e Lima (Rnest) in Pernambuco, Boaventura (formerly Gaslub) in Rio de Janeiro and Gabriel Passos (Regap) in São Paulo. 

BNamericas had already reported that Petrobras is carrying out tenders for the projects related to Replan, Rnest and the Boaventura energy complex.

According to the federal oil giant, the installation of photovoltaic plants integrated into the refineries' electricity generation systems can improve integration and operational reliability, potentially reducing gas consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, "in line with the company's strategic planning for a just energy transition."

The decarbonization commitments (scopes 1 and 2) made by Petrobras include the reduction of total absolute operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030 compared with 2015 and the specific target of reducing the GHG intensity of refining activities to 36kgCO2e/CWT (kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted per hundred pounds of product) by 2025 and 30kgCO2e/CWT by 2030.

The company added that by reducing its gas consumption, it is also making more gas available to the market, "a fuel with the potential to reduce emissions in the Brazilian energy matrix."

The solar projects at the four refineries will receive resources from Petrobras' decarbonization fund, which has US$1.3bn for the next five years, covering a portfolio of 34 projects with the potential to mitigate 1.5MtCO2e/year (million tons of CO2e per year).

Petrobras currently has a pilot solar plant in Alto do Rodrigues (UFV-AR), next to the Vale do Açu Thermal Power Plant (UTE-VLA) in Rio Grande do Norte state, with an installed capacity of 1.1MW.

The solar plant began operating in 2014, allowing tests to be carried out with three photovoltaic conversion technologies, two mounting alternatives and their integration with an energy storage system. In a new phase, UFV-AR will house Petrobras' green hydrogen research project.

Transpetro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrobras, inaugurated a 2MW solar photovoltaic plant in April 2024 at the Guarulhos terminal in São Paulo, which represents the equivalent consumption of around 600 homes.

Petrobras' 2025-29 business plan foresees capex of US$16.3bn for energy transition actions, encompassing projects to decarbonize operations and research and development (R&D) that permeate all segments, in addition to low-carbon energy projects.

With regard to renewable generation projects, the approved plan foresees investments of US$4.3bn in PV solar and onshore wind projects by 2030, in which the company "will preferably seek to act in partnership with large companies in the sector, with the aim of decarbonizing operations, integrating the portfolio of low-carbon solutions and capturing market opportunities in Brazil," Petrobras said.