Enel Green Power has started construction works at the new Apiacás hydroelectric complex, in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.
 
Apiacás will consist of a cascading sequence of three power plants, named “Salto Apiacás”, “Cabeza de Boi” and “Fazenda”, comprising seven turbines of around 14.5 MW each, for an overall installed capacity of 102 MW.
 
Once fully operational, the Apiacás hydro complex will be capable of generating up to an approximate 490 GWh each year, therefore meeting the country’s high energy demand which is estimated to grow at an average annual rate of 4% until 2020.
 
A thin-film photovoltaic facility will be installed to reduce power consumption on the construction site. The facility is a stand-alone one, which means it is not connected to the grid. The photovoltaic plant will add a further 1.2 MW of installed capacity. Once the hydro complex will be completed, the photovoltaic plant will keep operating, therefore adding its own renewable power to the green energy produced by the new hydro plants.
 
The new hydro complex is held by Enel Green Power Cabeza de Boi S.A., Enel Green Power Fazenda S.A., Enel Green Power Salto Apiacás S.A., subsidiaries of Enel Brasil Participações Ltda. The hydro complex will be completed and enter operation in the first half of 2016.
 
Construction of the hydro complex, in line with the growth targets set out in the 2013-2017 Enel Green Power business plan, requires a total investment of around 287 million US dollars, financed through the Enel Green Power Group’s own sources.
 
Enel Green Power was awarded the contract to build the Apiacás complex in a 2013 public auction, the “New Energy Auction” named “A-5”. The auction was launched by the Agência Nacional da Energia Elétrica (ANEEL).
 
The project is supported by a thirty-year PPA, a contract to purchase the power generated by the complex, which will be delivered to the national grid.
 
In Brazil, Enel Green Power currently has around 210 MW of installed capacity, of which 93 MW from hydro and the remainder from wind power.