Senate Committee approves project on energy transition; text goes to plenary
The Infrastructure Commission (CI) of the Federal Senate approved this Tuesday (3) the bill that establishes the Energy Transition Acceleration Program (Paten), to encourage proposals to replace polluting energy matrices with renewable energy sources ( PL 327/2021).
Companies that join the program will be able to receive resources from the National Climate Change Fund (FNMC) and negotiate debts with the Union through a transaction conditioned on investment in sustainable development.
Proposals for infrastructure works, expansion or implementation of sustainable energy production parks and technological research and development that provide socio-environmental benefits or mitigate impacts on the environment are eligible for Paten.
Originally, the use of transactions was the only incentive mechanism foreseen in the project. The rapporteur in the Senate, Laércio Oliveira (PP-SE)added the possibility of financing by the FNMC.
The project came from the Chamber of Deputies and was approved with changes promoted by the rapporteur. Now it goes to the Senate plenary, with an urgent request to be analyzed this Tuesday. Afterwards, you will need to return to the Chamber.
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Priorities
In the area of technology and production of renewable fuels, priority will be given to projects related to ethanol, aviation biokerosene, biodiesel, biomethane, low-carbon hydrogen, energy with carbon capture and storage and recovery and valorization energy from solid waste. By means of an amendment, the rapporteur included among the priority projects those related to nuclear energy, biogas, natural gas and the production of ammonia and derivatives.
Another priority will be the expansion of the production and transmission of solar, nuclear, wind, biomass, biogas and natural gas energy from hydroelectric plants and other renewable energy sources, including in rural properties. The rapporteur welcomed the senators’ suggestion Eduardo Gomes (PL-TO) and Fernando Farias (MDB-AL) and excluded the rule that prevented plants with generation greater than 50 MW from joining Paten.
The program will also target technical training, research and development of the natural gas chain and the production of nitrogen fertilizers.
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Green Background
The project creates the Guarantee Fund for Sustainable Development (Green Fund), to be administered by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), with the aim of guaranteeing the risk of financing granted by financial institutions to holders of projects approved in the Patent. The fund will be for exclusive use: the guarantee provided by it will only be linked to the financing of projects approved in Paten.
The fund will be made up of credits with a request approved by the Federal Revenue for reimbursement and held by legal entities governed by private law with a project approved in the Paten. In addition to credits referring to the Tax on Industrialized Products (IPI), PIS, Cofins and PIS/Cofins-Importation, the text allows the use of court orders and res judicata credit rights against the Union.
While allocated to the fund, the credit cannot be used to offset other taxes owed to the Revenue. Credits pending legal proceedings that may alter their ownership, validity or enforceability, whether in the first or second instance, may also not be used.
The guarantee obtained by the company to offer to the bank will be proportional to the quotas obtained with the contribution of these rights to the Green Fund. If they have not yet been pledged as a guarantee, the shares will be transferable, and the company will be able to withdraw the credits paid in to the Fund, safeguarding the amount necessary to guarantee the contracted financing operations.
Therefore, if the request to withdraw the credit contributed to the Green Fund is approved, the amount will be retained until the guarantee is supplemented or replaced, which may occur with money and other instruments defined in regulation and accepted by the bank.
Banks may not contractually provide for a binding obligation or retain program resources to settle pre-existing debts. The Fund administrator’s remuneration will be, at most, 1% per year on the value of its assets.
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States and municipalities
The approved text allows states, municipalities and the Federal District to join the Green Fund through an agreement with the Union, as long as they authorize in specific law the payment of taxpayers’ credits relating to ICMS or court orders issued by them.
Prior verification of the validity and approval of ICMS credits will be carried out by the federative entities.
Transaction
The transaction is a type of negotiation between the Union and creditors with debts that are difficult to recover. The instrument was created by Law 13,988, of 2020.
The project allows the use of the transaction to negotiate debts using projects approved in Paten. To do this, the company must submit to the government an individual proposal for debt transactions with the Union, its agencies and public foundations. The installment term cannot be longer than 120 months, or 60 months in the case of social security debts. Discounts on fines, interest and legal charges may be granted up to the limit set by law, 65%.
To find the value of the installment, the disbursement schedule for the investment and the gross revenue obtained from the respective sustainable development project may be taken into account. If the project is executed in violation of the terms and deadlines established in its approval, the transaction will be revoked.
The project also modifies Law 13,988 to determine that in transactions (even those outside the scope of Paten) sustainable development objectives and actions are established.
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Solar energy
The project also frees up resources from energy distributors previously reserved for energy efficiency projects to be applied to the assembly of photovoltaic panels in facilities of non-profit community associations. The energy generated by these panels and not used by the entities may be directed to beneficiaries of the Social Electricity Tariff.
Today, distributors must reserve at least 1% of their operating revenue for research and development and energy efficiency programs. This is the source of resources that is now available for distributed microgeneration projects.
Padis
The project originally contained a device that included the production of batteries in the Semiconductor Industry Technological Development Support Program (Padis). This excerpt was removed from the senator’s amendment Otto Alencar (PSD-BA)who argued that the measure would represent “a significant tax waiver without guaranteeing a proportional environmental or energy return”.
(With information from Agência Câmara)
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