Enel has secured the rights to build a 388MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Brazil for which it plans to invest about $355m.
The Italian energy company bagged the right to sign 20-year power supply contracts through Enel Green Power Brasil Participações (EGPB), its Brazilian renewables subsidiary.
Named as São Gonçalo, the solar plant will sell specified volumes of its power to a pool of distribution firms operating in the Brazilian regulated market.
The São Gonçalo plant will come up in the São Gonçalo do Gurguéia municipality, in the State of Piauí. It is anticipated to begin operations in early 2021 and produce over 850GWh of solar energy per annum after its commissioning.
The project was won in the A-4 public tender held by Brazilian energy regulator National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) on behalf of the Brazilian government.
According to Enel, the award won by it represents almost half of the 791MW of solar PV capacity that was put up for auction.
Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “The success of this tender marks another step forward for the Enel Group in Brazil, where we are already one of the leaders of the renewables market.
“The 388 MW we have just been assigned is the beginning of a new wave of investments of our Group in Brazil.
“This latest win, together with our other notable successes during 2017, underscores our clear financial and technology leadership in the global renewable energy sector.”
In Brazil, Enel has a total installed renewable capacity of about 2.6GW through its subsidiaries EGPB and Enel Brasil. This includes 716MW of solar PV capacity.
In mid September, EGPB commissioned 546MW solar power projects in the country. Included in them are the 254MW Ituverava solar park in Bahia and the 292MW Nova Olinda solar park in Piauí.
Image: Enel to invest $355m on a new solar power plant in Brazil. Photo: Courtesy of Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.