Brazil put into operation the first floating solar plant in Latin America installed in an already exhausted mining pit – result of a mine that is no longer economically viable or that has reached the end of its useful operating life. In this case, after the end of mining, the exhausted pit was filled with water, creating a body of water to receive the installation of the floating photovoltaic plant.
Budgeted at R$5 million, the unprecedented project was implemented by F2B, a Brazilian company specialized in photovoltaic generation projects in water bodies, at the mining unit of Grupo AB Areias, in the municipality of Roseira, in the interior of the state of São Paulo .
The plant went into operation in the first days of October, has a generation capacity of 1 MW and will meet the total electricity demand of the mining company's unit operating in that municipality, reducing electricity costs and expanding the company's sustainability programs.
The plant covers an area of 8 thousand square meters, with 1852 thousand solar panels installed on top of floats. The mining company's pit that will host the project has a total area of 200 thousand square meters.
According to Orestes Gonçalves, managing partner of F2B, the technology used in the project allows for quick installation, safe maintenance and supports weight of up to 350 kilos per square meter, in addition to having the option of placing the inverters and transformer on the floating island, with lower cable costs and greater energy production.
F2B's floating solar plant products, which are manufactured in Brazil, use high-density resin with UV (ultraviolet) treatment and high-quality aluminum to have a useful life of around 30 years.
F2B's floating solar technology is the result of a partnership with NGR Island, an Italian company specialized in floating technology for photovoltaic solar generation plants on the global market.
“With the success of the partnership with the AB Sands Group, a market reference in the mining of aggregates for construction, the prospect now is to replicate the Roseira project in the group’s other units that operate in other municipalities in Vale do Paraíba – SP”, he adds Gonçalves.
The float technology used in the project is of Italian origin and is manufactured in Brazil by F2B itself. Today's manufacturing capacity in Brazil is 80 MW per year in floats, and for the next year 2024, 300 MW with growth of 40% per year.
“With manufacturing in Brazilian territory, our intention is to offer customers the possibility of very attractive credit lines, such as Finame, for example. The company's expectation in this area is to obtain a turnover in the order of tens of millions with the entry of around 200 megawatts in the next 12 months”, concludes the executive.
An answer
By the flooded area can be expanded. Is there a forecast?