The complex, which is capable of generating about 490GWh of energy per year, features three power plants that include 45MW Salto Apiacás, 30MW Cabeça de Boi and 27MW Fazenda.
Enel invested about $287m in the construction of the complex, which powers over 200,000 homes in Brazil, and reduce about 280,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The company said the three hydro facilities began commercial operations more than a year before the deadline set by the rules of the 2013 A-5 auction in which the company was awarded the project.
A power purchase agreement (PPA) for 30 years has been entered, under which the power generated from the plant will be sold to a group of energy distributing companies in the country. The PPA will start in January 2018 and the energy generated before that can be sold in the free market.
During the development of the project, EGPB installed a 1.2MW solar PV facility, which supplied power during the construction period. The move reduced emissions generated by construction works.
Enel claims that this project was carried out under the company’s Creating Shared Value (CSV) model, which intends to integrate business perspectives with that of community needs that could create value on both sides.
Enel Green Power Brasil Participações manager in Carlo Zorzoli said: “The inauguration of Apiacás is an important achievement for Enel in Brazil, as we followed the highest sustainability and environmental standards for its construction and we were able to complete the facility well in advance of the original deadline.
“Apiacás shows how to best use Brazil’s hydro resources while contributing to both the sustainability of the country’s energy mix and the development of local communities.”
Image: Enel opens Apiacás hydropower complex in Brazil. Photo: Courtesy of Enel SpA.
