Italian energy company Enel has started the operations of the 90MW Cristalândia wind farm in Brazil.
Enel through its Brazilian subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participações (EGPB) has invested about $190m for the construction of the Cristalândia wind farm, which is located in the municipalities of Brumado, Rio de Contas and Dom Basilio, in Brazil’s north-eastern state of Bahia.
Electricity from the wind farm will be purchased under 20 year power purchase agreements by Brazilian electricity distribution companies.
EGPB had won the tender to build the wind farm through the Leilão de Fontes Alternativas (LFA) public renewable energy auction conducted in April 2015.
The wind farm has a capacity to produce about 350GWh of energy per year, which is enough to meet the annual energy consumption needs of more than 170,000 Brazilian households. It can offset about 118,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Enel has its presence in the state of Bahia, where it operates 711MW of wind and solar capacity and is also in the process of constructing of 600MW of projects.
The company has a total installed capacity of 1.6GW in Brazil, out of which 490MW is wind power, 279MW is solar and 890MW is hydropower.
Enel Brazil country manager Carlo Zorzoli said: “We are extremely pleased to announce that Enel is commissioning yet another renewable facility awarded through a public tender.
“In Bahia, where Cristalândia wind farm is located, we manage as much as 1.3 GW of renewable capacity both in operation and under construction, leveraging on the state’s huge wealth of green energy sources.
“Across Brazil, we are striving to support the country’s economy in the most responsible way by contributing to the diversification of the energy mix through renewables and implementing sustainable initiatives aimed at creating shared value at the local level.”
Image: Enel commissions 90MW wind farm in Brazil. Photo: Courtesy of Jim Frech/FreeImages.com.