Brazil's power regulator ANEEL has approved the rules for the country's first large-scale battery storage auctions, to be held on 2 and 4 December, with ceiling prices of up to R$1.76 million per MW per year and 15-year contracts. More than 6,000 projects totalling 296.8 GW were registered for the process.
Two auctions, two sets of rules
ANEEL's board approved the auction notices at an extraordinary meeting on 27 October, according to Folha de Pernambuco, Cenário Energia and O Setor Elétrico. Energía Estratégica reports that the decision was unanimous.
The first auction, under notice 05/2026, requires domestic content based on criteria from the development bank BNDES. Its ceiling price is R$1.76 million per MW per year, about US$334,400. The second, under notice 06/2026, has no local content requirement and a ceiling of R$1.58 million per MW per year, about US$300,200. Both auctions will be held online.
Contracts run for 15 years, with supply starting on 1 August 2028, TaiyangNews and Cenário Energia report.
What the batteries must do
Winning systems must deliver their full contracted power for four hours per cycle, for up to two cycles a day and 366 cycles a year, and must be able to recharge fully within six hours. In practice, that makes them well suited to absorbing midday solar output and releasing it at the evening peak.
Huge interest, lower barriers
In August, the energy research agency EPE registered 6,091 projects with a combined 296.8 GW for the auctions. Energía Estratégica cites industry forecasts that 2 to 5 GW, or 8 to 20 GWh, could be awarded.
ANEEL also cut the reference investment used to size guarantees by 38.8%, from R$9.8 million to R$6 million per MW. According to Energía Estratégica, the bid bond falls from R$98,000 to R$60,000 per MW, and the performance bond and minimum net worth requirement fall from R$980,000 to R$600,000 per MW. This lowers the entry barrier for smaller developers.
A risk from Congress
The timetable could still move. A bill in Congress, PL 3.716/2026, could change the legal framework for the auctions. ANEEL director-general Sandoval Feitosa said that in that case "the notices will be republished and the public session of the auctions will be rescheduled", and that "the agency will comply with the law in force on the day of the auction", according to Movimento Econômico (translated from Portuguese).
A separate public consultation is also under way on how the cost of contracted storage will be shared among consumers.
What it means for the Americas market
A first national storage auction with four-hour systems gives solar-heavy regions a route to sell more midday energy in the evening. For developers and battery suppliers across Latin America, the ceiling prices and the 296.8 GW of registered projects point to fierce competition, while the local content auction opens a separate opportunity for manufacturers willing to build in Brazil. Bidders should watch Congress closely: any change to the law could reset dates and rules weeks before the sessions.
Source: TaiyangNews and Energía Estratégica, 28 October 2026; Cenário Energia; Folha de Pernambuco; Movimento Econômico.
