With the Brazilian energy sector charged up from a seemingly favorable result in Monday’s wind power auction, sponsors are calling for better government support and long term commitment to wind power. “It’s very important for all participants in the wind power sector to know if this is a long term business in Brazil,” says Horacio Carvalho, CEO of Aeolus Wind, the London-headquartered wind development company whose main operations are in Brazil. He was speaking at a conference in Sao Paulo in the third week of November, prior to the auction. “We should have a clear understanding that if these auctions are [going to be held] every year, or if there’s a ceiling for installed wind capacity that the country wants to have,” he adds. The rules of the game need to be clear so that banks, investors and other market participants can have confidence to invest in Brazil, he concludes. As with hydro, load factor is a critical issue. Wind farms can only produce while there is wind, which produces a high degree of volatility in output. “We need to have a mechanism that covers the volatility of the production of wind farms,” says Monica Neves Cordeiro, head of business development at Cemig, who also participated in the event. She calls for a clear economic signal of support from the government to protect and support wind generation. Load factors for many projects in the north of Brazil top 50%, says a project banker, while some of the better known proposals for projects in the south of Brazil hover in the 30% area. Luis Pescarmona, CEO of IMPSA Wind, which produces turbines in Brazil, says that if Brazil hopes to draw direct investment from international equipment producers in the coming years, it has to provide substantial fiscal incentives. “Even if Brazil [is auctioning] 1.0GW-1.5GW per year, it is not a large market,” says Pescarmona. “The big market in the world today is China,” he notes, adding if the government chooses to promote local production by taxing the importation o