Enel Green Power Brasil, a subsidiary of the Enel Group, announced that it has started commercial operation of the 133 MW expansion of the 475 MW São Gonçalo (PI) solar plant, which was already in operation and is the largest photovoltaic installation in South America .
In total, around R$422 million reais were invested in the construction of this second section of 133 MW. “Putting into operation the first expansion of our emblematic São Gonçalo solar park is a big step for Enel in Brazil,” said Salvatore Bernabei, CEO of Enel Green Power.
“Despite the challenges imposed by the current scenario, we recently started the construction of 1,3 GW of renewable capacity in the country, including a new 256 MW section of the São Gonçalo plant. We remain committed to contributing even more to the growth of the electricity sector and leading the green recovery in Brazil, as we do around the world”, he highlighted.
In Brazil, the Enel Group, through its subsidiaries EGPB and Enel Brasil, has an installed renewable capacity of more than 3,4 GW, of which 1.210 MW are wind, 979 MW solar and 1.269 MW hydroelectric.
About the project
In August 2019, the company announced the start of construction on the 133 MW extension of the solar park that is now in operation. Before that, in October 2018, the installation of the first 475 MW section of São Gonçalo began, which was connected to the grid in January 2020.
The new 256 MW expansion, which began construction last year, is expected to begin operations in 2021 and brings São Gonçalo's total capacity to 864 MW, making it Enel's largest power generation park under construction throughout the world.
The entire plant, with 864 MW, will be made up of more than 2,2 million solar panels and will be capable of generating more than 2,2 TWh annually, avoiding the emission of more than 1,2 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere at each year.
According to Enel, São Gonçalo is the company's first plant in Brazil to use bifacial modules. In total, the group is investing around R$735 million in the construction of the third section of the plant.
