MME Sets R$3.3 Billion Compensation for Wind and Solar Curtailment

Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) published Ordinance 140 on July 22, establishing a R$3.3 billion compensation mechanism for wind and solar plants affected by generation curtailment between September 2023 and November 2025.

The measure aims to resolve a regulatory liability accumulated over more than two years, during which the National System Operator (ONS) ordered renewable generation cuts due to electrical reliability concerns and transmission infrastructure failures. The ordinance operationalizes Law 15.269, passed in November 2025, which authorized the federal government to formalize these agreements. Brazil is Latin America's largest wind and solar market, and the rapid expansion of both sources has strained the transmission grid. The mechanism does not cover curtailment resulting from energy oversupply, which the MME considers a market risk assumed by generators.

Compensation will be settled through a netting process with the Electricity Trading Chamber (CCEE), deducting the R$3.3 billion from a liability of nearly R$6 billion that generators themselves hold with the chamber, according to Poder360. The operation will have no direct impact on electricity tariffs. To access compensation, companies must express their interest within 20 days of publication (until approximately August 10) via the Celebra platform and irrevocably waive any judicial, arbitral, or administrative litigation related to those curtailments. Elbia Gannoum, president of the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (Abeeólica), noted that the ordinance addresses most sector demands, though not all, and it is too early to estimate how many companies will participate.

Regulation of curtailments after November 2025 falls to the National Agency of Electricity (Aneel), which must review Normative Resolution 1.030. The outcome will determine whether Brazil succeeds in reducing the regulatory uncertainty that has hindered new investment in renewable generation, the fastest-growing segment of Latin America's electricity sector.

This note was drafted with artificial intelligence assistance based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.