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Costing around BRL 870 million, Enel focused its investments on the expansion of the São Gonçalo III solar park, located in Piauí.
Enel Green Power, a company focused on the production of renewable energy, started commercial operations directing investments to the São Gonçalo III solar park, the second expansion which takes place in the solar complex installed in São Gonçalo do Gurguéia, in Piauí.
Enel's investments focus on production and sustainability in São Gonçalo III
The investment in São Gonçalo III cost around R$ 870 million. The park will be able to generate around 597 GWh annually, avoiding the annual emission of more than 400 thousand tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
With the new section corresponding to 256 MW, the complex managed to reach a total operational capacity of 864MW, becoming the largest solar park in operation in Latin America.
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Taking into account the entire complex, more than 2 TWh of energy will be generated per year. The avoided emission is estimated at 1,3 million tons of CO2 per year.
According to a statement issued by the company, the generation of energy in the 2,2 million solar panels of the complex is enough to replace 470 million cubic meters of natural gas used in the energy generation process by thermoelectric plants per year.
The project in Piauí was also the first Enel plant in Brazil to use bifacial solar modules, which manage to capture energy from both sides of the panel, with an expected increase in energy generation of up to 18%.
History of the expansion of the Piauí complex
Bruno Riga, responsible for Enel Green Power in Brazil, says that the country has an important position in the company's business expansion plans.
Construction of the project started in October 2018, with 475 MW of installed capacity. The new facility was connected to the grid in January 2020.
In August 2019, Enel announced the construction of the first expansion of the complex, with 133 MW of capacity, where it started operating in February 2021.
The construction of the third section of the project was announced in December 2020 and is already in operation.
Bruno Riga comments that, “The São Gonçalo solar complex is fundamental in the trajectory of Enel Green Power in Brazil and has also helped us to consolidate the group's capacity to build and operate large-scale plants globally”.
Booming renewable energy generation
The centralized generation must grow 10,3 GW in 2023, according to projections by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME). It is the largest annual expansion of electricity production capacity installed on Brazilian soil.
Solar and wind power plants should account for more than 92% of this production.
The expansion highlights are Bahia (3,1 GW), Rio Grande do Norte (2,8 GW) and Minas Gerais (1,8 GW).
The projection is that 298 generating plants will start operating or add capacity, spread across 18 Brazilian states.
