Renewable

October 22 (Renewables Now) - The Brazilian green power unit of Italian energy major Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) said today it has initiated construction work on the 475-MW DC Sao Goncalo solar park in the northeastern state of Piaui.

Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes Ltda (EGPB) expects to build the particular facility in Sao Goncalo do Gurgueia at a total cost of about BRL 1.4 billion (USD 380m/EUR 331m). The company said that this is the largest photovoltaic (PV) plant currently under construction in South America.

EGPB won the right to sign 20-year power supply contracts for a 388-MW DC portion of this project in the A-4 public tender held by energy regulator Aneel in late 2017. These contracts were signed with a pool of distribution companies operating in the country’s regulated market. The electricity generated by the remaining 87 MW will be sold on the free market, Enel noted.

The Sao Goncalo solar power plant is expected to start operations in 2020 with the capacity to generate more than 1,200 GWh of electricity per year.

Enel has over 2.9 GW of installed renewable energy capacity in Brazil, including 842 MW from wind farms and 820 MW from solar PV plants.

(BRL 1.0 = USD 0.271/EUR 0.237)