Eneva and Vports sign contracts for Espírito Santo Hub in Barra do Riacho

Brazilian energy company Eneva and Vports, the port authority of Espírito Santo, signed the contracts enabling the implementation of the Espírito Santo Hub at the Port of Barra do Riacho, in the municipality of Aracruz (ES). The company announced the agreement this Tuesday, November 3.

The project involves a thermoelectric complex with a total installed capacity of 690 MW, which will be supplied by a new LNG regasification terminal developed by Eneva itself in Barra do Riacho, where gas will arrive via vessels. Commercial operation is scheduled to begin on August 1, 2031, with a 15-year capacity sale commitment awarded in the 2026 Capacity Reserve Auction (LRCAP).

The area exploration and port facility contracts grant Eneva usage rights over the land designated for the project until December 31, 2046, with the possibility of renewal. Eneva will retain 100% ownership of the project, and the company noted that the planned infrastructure could also support future expansion opportunities in the natural gas and power generation market.

The Espírito Santo Hub is part of the set of projects contracted by Eneva in the 2026 LRCAP, along with the developments underway in Ceará and Sergipe. The Ceará Hub involves a 1,659.4 MW thermoelectric complex in Caucaia, supplied by an LNG terminal under development at the Port of Pecém, with 1,199.4 MW scheduled for August 2029 and the remaining 460 MW for August 2031, both with 15-year capacity sale commitments. The Ceará and Espírito Santo projects are located in areas under the Superintendency for the Development of the Northeast (Sudene) and are eligible for benefits under the Special Incentive Regime for Infrastructure Development (Reidi). The Sergipe Hub, in Barra dos Coqueiros, combines a 1,593 MW combined-cycle plant with a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) capable of processing up to 21 million m³/day of natural gas.

Eneva's Director of Marketing, Commercialization and New Business, Marcelo Lopes, stated in a press release that, with the projects under construction and a portfolio exceeding 10 GW of installed capacity, the company continues to advance in consolidating an integrated energy infrastructure platform.