Brazil: Passenger Rail Energy Efficiency Plan Technical Assistance
April 26, 2021
- June 18, 2021
The National Association of Passenger Rail Operators (Associação Nacional dos Transportadores de Passageiros sobre Trilhos – ANPTrilhos) invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the “Proposal”) from interested U.S. firms that are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to execute Technical Assistance to develop an energy efficiency implementation plan for passenger rail systems in Brazil. The Proposal submission deadline is JUNE 18, 2021. The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $849,570 grant to ANPTrilhos from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.
About the Grantee
ANPTrilhos is a national trade association representing all the passenger rail operators and industry leaders in Brazil and its objective is to promote the development of rail transportation in the country. The primary members of ANPTrilhos include CCR Metro Bahia, Metro Rio, SuperVia, Metro Sao Paulo, CPTM, Metro DF, CTB, CBTU, Metro Fortaleza, Trensurb, ViaMobilidade, ViaQuatro and VLT Carioca.
Project Background
The demand for electric power has risen sharply in recent years in Brazil, resulting in higher costs for all users. For passenger rail systems in Brazil, energy consumption represents the second highest operational cost. This burdensome cost has contributed to fare increases and operators are concerned that rising energy costs will continue to drive these increases. Rail operators are seeking modern energy efficient solutions to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency across the entire passenger rail system.
Before acquiring new energy efficient equipment or moving forward with retrofits, the passenger rail operators would like to further assess their options and how the different systems would impact their costs and operations. As such, Brazil’s National Association of Passenger Rail Operators (ANPTrilhos) has requested USTDA assistance to develop an energy efficiency implementation plan that would assess and recommend suitable solutions to achieve overall energy savings for passenger rail operations.
Passenger rail operators have invested billions of dollars in the construction of rail infrastructure and systems and wish to further their investments with the introduction of energy efficient solutions that would result in significant cost savings, which is critical to their business success.
About the Technical Assistance
The technical assistance would develop a strategic energy efficiency and sustainability plan that would: (a) assess the technical environment in terms of staff, equipment, infrastructure, facilities, and services; (b) recommend policies, standards, and best practices in energy reduction measures; and (c) develop a comprehensive implementation plan that recommends solutions, technology acquisitions, schedules, and budgets for system upgrades and replacements.
The technical assistance would focus on assessing the primary drivers of energy consumption, including passenger rail vehicles and propulsion, auxiliary power systems, operations, and passenger rail facilities such as maintenance depots, rail yard facilities, and train stations. The technical assistance would then identify short- and medium-term milestones for the acquisition and deployment of energy efficient solutions that are most suitable for the rail operators in Brazil.
Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (“HVAC”) systems account for the highest consumption of energy at the stations, followed by internal/external lighting, elevators, electric escalators, and other systems such as electronic ticket dispensing, ticket validation systems, CCTV/security systems, water control systems, access control, fire alarms, signage, and other electrical systems. Energy efficient solutions that may be assessed in the technical assistance include energy storage, power regeneration, and automation software.
Subsequent to the completion of the technical assistance, it is expected that individual operators would formulate their procurement plans for the deployment of the recommended energy efficient solutions.
