Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes (EGPB) has begun constructing a 475 megawatt (MW) solar power facility in Brazil. The Enel Group, parent company of EGPB, recently said in a statement that it would be investing an amount of $390 million in the project.
Apparently, the Sao Goncalo solar park, which is claimed to be the largest photovoltaic (PV) facility being built in South America currently, is expected to commence operations in 2020 and is located in the north-eastern state of Piaui.
Antonio Cammisecra, the head of Enel Green Power, stated that starting the construction of the plant has strengthened the leadership of the company in the Brazilian renewable energy sector. He further said that Sao Goncalo is set to contribute towards the resilience and diversification of energy mix of the country in future.
Sources with knowledge of the matter informed that after the construction of the Sao Goncalo facility is finished, and it starts functioning, it will be capable of producing over 1,200 gigawatt hours every year. It will also prevent the emission of more than 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
In late 2017, EGPB had won the right to ink 20-year power supply contracts in the A-4 public tender held by the energy regulator Aneel, for a portion of 388 MW DC of this project. All of these contracts were seemingly signed with a pool of distribution companies operating in the regulated market of the country. Enel noted that the electricity produced by the remaining 87 MW will be sold on the free market.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the PV systems directly convert solar energy into electricity. The IEA added that last year, the cumulative solar PV capacity had reached around 398 gigawatts, generating more than 460 terawatt hours which accounted for about two percent of global power output.