Brazilian engineering company Cotesa Engineering is expanding its operation and maintenance business in the electricity sector.

CEO João Junklaus and his advisor Felipe Andreas tell BNAmericas that the company is now looking for an international partner to enter the Brazilian market for wind turbines.

They also talked about the risks of the large discount that broadcasters are offering in regulated tenders, among other issues.

BNAmericas: How has Cotesa performed in recent years?

Junklaus: We are growing a lot. In 2018 we increased revenue by 22%, 28% in 2019 and in 2020 growing around 18-20%. We are about 300 employees, with 100 currently working from home due to the pandemic.

Andreas: We are a company operating and maintaining electrical systems, mainly power transmissions. For nearly six years, we have been investing in improving our technical skills and creating an Operations Center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We also take the opportunity to explore more renewable generation assets, including solar, wind and hydropower. Today, around 30% of our revenues are anchored in O&M services for generation assets.

BNAmericas: How is your portfolio currently?

We operate and maintain 2.7 GW of solar wind power plants and 490MW of hydroelectric generation units, in addition to 106 substations and 7000 km of transmission lines in 21 states and the Federal District.

BNAmericas: How do you see the large pipeline of renewable energy projects coming on stream in the coming years?

Junklaus: We have a huge fleet of wind turbines with warranty periods expiring. When contracting a wind farm, the investor contracts the turbine and the manufacturer to carry out the O&M for five years. Therefore, we are studying the entry into the O&M market for wind turbines. We already do the “bottom part”, dispatching the production, which is the operation of the substation and the electrical connections and BOP (plant balance). So we want to look for a partner outside Brazil that already does this (wind turbine O&M) in the United States or Europe, for example, with expertise that can explore this market.

BNAMEricas: The same with solar power plants?

Junklaus: We are already doing everything for 500MW of 1.1GW of solar energy in our portfolio, from the operation and maintenance of the park itself to the lower stretch [substations and connections]. The barrier to entry into solar energy does not have the same protectionism that exists for wind energy manufacturers. The barrier is in the financing of banks. So, for us, these 500 MW are very important.