USTDA Supports Renewable Energy and Grid Management in Brazil

(USTDA) Belo Horizonte, Brazil – Today the U.S. Trade and Development Agency signed two grants with Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais (CEMIG), an energy company in Brazil.

One grant supports an analysis of technologies and business processes that will enable the influx of renewable energy and other distributed energy resources to the electricity distribution grid. The other grant supports the development of a Telecommunications Infrastructure Investment Plan. The plan will serve as a roadmap for grid management including telecommunications needs and other technologies to guide CEMIG’s future growth. These grants will help CEMIG to provide reliable and cost-efficient electricity to consumers in the state of Minas Gerais.

“USTDA is pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with CEMIG,” said USTDA Director Leocadia I. Zak. “CEMIG is a leader within the electric energy sector in Brazil, and its distribution network is considered to be one of the most reliable in the country. We expect these projects will increase opportunities for trade and exchange between the U.S. and Brazil.”

CEMIG Director Mauro Borges Lemos added, “The implementation of projects in partnership with the Agency brought significant results to CEMIG a few years ago, which contributed to making many of our processes more efficient. Without a doubt, CEMIG is the right company to put new ideas into practice and try out new technologies through these grants. It is clear that the exchange of information between USTDA and CEMIG will support the growth of our company and improve the quality of our services.”

Vrinda, Inc., a New York-based strategy and operations consulting firm, will conduct the distributed energy resources technical assistance project. Navneet Trivedi, Vrinda’s Chief Operating Officer, said, “We look forward to partnering with CEMIG on this important project. We believe it will enable the company to embrace large scale solar and other distributed energy resources by bringing in the best technology solutions for interconnection, integration and management.”

The Telecommunications Infrastructure Investment Plan technical assistance will be conducted on a competitive basis. Businesses interested in submitting proposals for this project should visit the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website at www.fbo.gov. A link to the FBO announcement will be posted to USTDA’s website at https://www.ustda.gov/business-opportunities.