Iberdrola chooses Brazil to install its first floating solar power plant

Iberdrola plans to install its first floating solar power plant in Brazil. The unit will be located in Fernando de Noronha and will receive investments of 2 million euros.

A Iberdrola announced this Thursday (5) that Brazil was the country chosen to install its first offshore solar power plant, a relatively new technology, which still accounts for a small percentage of the energy generated by the renewable source. The project by the energy company from Spain will be installed at the Xaréu Dam, in Fernando de Noronha.

Iberdrola invests €2 million in the floating solar plant

The development will have a capacity of 0,63 MW and should generate around 1.240 megawatt hours (MWh) per year, with investments of 2 million euros by Iberdrola. The amount would be enough to cover more than half of the energy consumed by Compesa in Fernando de Noronha.

A country's first floating solar power plant was installed at the Sobradinho hydroelectric plant, in the interior of Bahia, about 4 years ago. The initiative is part of a research and development project by the Companhia Hidrelétrica do Rio São Francisco (Chesf), part of Eletrobrás.

The same company also has projects in Boa Esperança (PI). The Metropolitan Water and Energy Company (EMAE) operates in a pilot project at the Billings dam, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.

The World Bank estimates that there is a potential of 400 GW for floating solar power plants, which would double solar power installations compared to the 2018 level. in land. In addition to the higher initial cost, the maintenance of these plants is also more complex, and there are some impacts on water quality and biodiversity.

Advantages of Iberdrola's floating solar plant

It is important to mention that the company's project will count on the partnership of Pernambuco Sanitation Company (Compesa), which operates in the water and sewage distribution network throughout the island. One of the advantages of solar power plant panels being installed on water is the availability of land use for other utilities, as photovoltaic solar panel farms tend to occupy large areas.

The archipelago has only 26 square km, and 70% of this area is connected to a national park, which is protected. It is also possible that electricity production will take place closer to where it will be consumed: in the case of the project in Fernando de Noronha, the customer will be Compesa itself. Floating Solar Power Plants can be installed in lakes, reservoirs or on the high seas. The estimate is that the cost of these projects is 20% higher than that of a plant on land, according to the Energy Research Company (EPE).

Technology can provide a huge compensation, as water is responsible for naturally cooling the solar panels, the problem of loss of efficiency caused by high temperatures is minimized. Around the world, production of this technology jumped from 61 MW in mid-2015 to more than 3 MW in the last year, according to information from Iberdrola.

Fernando de Noronha focusing on sustainability

Fernando de Noronha is becoming a center for research on electric cars, and the first initiative in the segment came from the government of Pernambuco, the state where the archipelago is located, when developing the Noronha Carbon Zero Project, there, in 2013. Among other things, the intention is that ordinary cars will not circulate on the island from 2030 and that electric models will be fueled by a solar plant and energy storage systems. 

Currently, around 70 electric vehicles are running in Fernando de Noronha, including 18 newcomers. To make recharging batteries easier, the Trilha Verde project aims to install 12 charging stations on the main island.