The Largest Wind Farm in South America Is Located in Piauí and Has Over 2.4 GW

Brazil has the Largest Wind Energy Park in South America. The project is located in Piauí with a generation capacity of 2.4 GW and investments of approximately R$ 2.5 billion.

The energy transition currently seems to be the main path to achieving the commitments to combat climate change made in the Paris Agreement by directly impacting the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, fine particulate matter, and other substances responsible for the greenhouse effect. Brazil, a giant in South America, has focused on this goal through wind energy parks.

Largest Wind Energy Park in South America is in Piauí

The Enel, a multinational company in the electric energy sector with a significant presence in the country, generates electricity solely from sustainable sources like wind, solar, and hydro energy. With a total installed capacity of 4.9 GW of renewable energy, where over 2.4 GW are generated through wind parks, about 1.2 GW from solar energy, and 1.3 GW from hydro, making the group currently the largest player in wind and solar energy in the country.

To grasp the importance of the country in renewable energy generation, about one-fifth of all additional capacity of clean energy generation from Enel worldwide in the last year was put into operation in the national territory.

Through the company Enel Green Power, the renewable generation subsidiary of the company, Enel develops and operates in the country the largest wind farm and the largest solar park in South America, which are the Lagoa dos Ventos and São Gonçalo projects, respectively, located in the state of Piauí.

Piauí Wind Farm Counts with Investments of R$ 2.5 Billion

Situated in the municipalities of Lagoa do Barro do Piauí, Dom Inocêncio, and Queimada Nova, the Lagoa dos Ventos wind farm is the largest wind energy park currently in operation in South America.

Recently, the company began the development of the second expansion of the wind energy complex, with investments of approximately R$ 2.5 billion.

The first expansion of the Lagoa dos Ventos wind farm, which started in 2020, is already partially operational and is expected to be fully completed by the end of this year.

Brazil Ranks Sixth in Wind Energy Generation

According to information from the annual report of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), released in the first half of this year, Brazil took the sixth position in the Ranking of Total Installed Capacity for Onshore Wind Energy last year (up from seventh place in 2020).

In 2012, the country was in 15th position. The expansion of wind energy parks is great news, given that wind energy has all the characteristics to lead the global transition to the use of green sources, promoting the replacement of energy matrices based on fossil fuels like natural gas and coal with those that have low or zero carbon emissions, based on renewable sources, both wind and solar or hydro.

The replacement of fossil and polluting fuels with energy generated from clean sources is called electrification, an efficient and cost-effective way to decarbonize final consumption in transportation, industry, commerce, and residences.

Being free, inexhaustible, and available across much of the land, green sources make energy self-sufficiency more viable and move toward sustainable development. However, despite its privileged position regarding its energy matrix, it is necessary to boost investments in the giant of South America, and various companies are already doing their part.