Banco do Brasil solar plant generates jobs and income for the community of Pará

Banco do Brasil (BB) inaugurated this Thursday (15) its second photovoltaic energy plant. The plant, located in the municipality of São Domingos do Araguaia (PA), has an installed capacity of 1 MW and, in addition to guaranteeing the supply of renewable energy to 35 agencies in the state of Pará, will contribute to the local community.

The project was carried out by the EnerSolar group – EPCista, which has more than 250 MWp implemented in Brazil – and FazSol Energia Renováveis, together with Espaço Y Engenharia Empreendimentos and Shizen Energia do Brasil, which will implement photovoltaic energy for a health center in the city , to be defined together with the city hall.

According to BB, the initiative will contribute to job creation, greater tax collection in the municipality and improvement of the energy network in the region.

Named Lindoia I, the plant, built in an area of ​​20 thousand m², houses more than 4 thousand Astronergy modules, with a generation capacity of 2 GWh per year.

Also according to BB, the work will provide a 45% reduction in the agencies' energy bills, representing savings of R$17 million over 15 years.

“We must have an ecologically appropriate vision of the projects we participate in. In other words, it is not enough for the business to be financially viable given the expectations of the controllers, it is also essential that it is socio-environmentally justified”, said Nélio Alves Pereira, director of FazSol.

“Sustainable business management in the financial industry is constantly evolving, playing a fundamental role in building results for society, the environment and the economy. We believe that sustainability is good business. An example of this are BB's energy efficiency actions. At the same time as we reduce expenses, we generate environmental and social value, with the use of renewable energy and job creation”, stated Mauro Ribeiro Neto, Corporate Vice President of Banco do Brasil.

BB's first solar plant

In March this year, Banco do Brasil opened its first solar plant in the municipality of Porteirinha (MG). Built by EDP, it has 19 thousand solar panels installed in an area of ​​20 hectares, ensuring the supply of sufficient energy to offset the consumption of 100 BB branches in the state of Minas Gerais. Since the start of operations, a total of 995 MWh has been generated.

BB still has five other projects of this type under construction, located in Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia, Ceará and the Federal District. The expectation is that all will be operational by the end of 2021.

Added to the two existing ones, Porteirinha (MG) and São Domingos do Araguaia (PA), all seven units will be capable of supplying 42 GWh of energy per year. The institution hopes, with these measures, to stop emitting around two thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year.

“In addition to the strong connection with our purpose of caring for what is valuable to people, BB's commitment to sustainability seeks to replace energy sources based on fossil fuels with energy from renewable sources, helping to reduce the effects of changes climate change”, emphasized Ricardo Forni, director of Supplies, Infrastructure and Assets at Banco do Brasil.