Enel Green Power has been awarded energy supply contracts with two solar projects for an overall capacity of 11 MW within Brazil’s Pernambuco´s Solar Tender. The two projects, named Fonte Solar 1 and 2, are neighbouring and located in northeastern Brazil, Pernambuco state. In the same area, EGP also has an 80 MW wind project under construction, the Fontes dos Ventos Wind Farm, whose substation, under construction as well, will also receive the power generated by Fonte Solar 1 and 2.

Once operational, the two solar plants will be able to generate more than 17 GWh per year, thereby avoiding the emission of more than 5 thousand tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Enel Green Power has been granted 20-year bilateral energy contracts envisaging the sale of a fixed amount of power generated by the two photovoltaic plants to business customers in the Pernambuco State. 

The 11 MW from solar add up to the 503 MW of wind and hydro that Enel Green Power obtained in the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Brazilian public auctions – 283 of which are already under construction – and to the 93 MW of hydro capacity the company already operates in Brazil. Hence, these projects represent a step further in the deployment of Enel Green Power’s diversification strategy in Brazil. Brazil is among the world leaders in renewable energy generation thanks to its approximately 98,000 MW in installed capacity in the sector, corresponding to around 75% of that country’s total installed capacity.

In the Brazilian solar sector, Enel Green Power will also build a 1.2 MW thin film photovoltaic system that will be able to supply part of the power required for the construction works of its three hydro projects “Salto Apiacás”, “Cabeça de Boi” and “Fazenda” in Mato Grosso State.

Again in the solar sector in South America, Enel Green Power has begun construction works at “Diego de Almagro”, its first photovoltaic plant in Chile. The plant, located in the Atacama Region, will have a total installed capacity of 36 MW. Once fully up and running, the Diego de Almagro plant will be able to generate up to 80 GWh per year.