EN 
PT_BR 
The State of Minas Gerais, which currently leads the generation of photovoltaic energy in the country, announced another action aimed at promoting the renewable source this week.
With a contribution of R$ 5.2 billion from the German company Sowitec, the region will implement three new large plants in the north of the state: there will be two solar projects and one hybrid (wind and solar).
The solar projects, named Minas do Sol and Presidente JK, are in an advanced stage of development in the municipality of Pirapora.
The projects already have all documents regularized, such as environmental license and solarimetric measurement in accordance with the parameters required by the competent bodies
The first photovoltaic project will have the potential to serve, on average, 250 thousand homes per year. The second, named after one of the biggest names in Brazilian politics, will be able to serve up to 350,000 homes.
In turn, the hybrid project – called the Gameleiras Energy Generation Complex – will be installed in the cities of Monte Azul, Espinosa, Santo Antônio do Retiro, Rio Pardo de Minas and Mato Verde. In the initial phases, the plant will have a capacity of 600 MW of wind power and 520 MWp of solar power. In subsequent phases, capacities should jump to 1,400 MW in wind and 780 MWp in solar.
The project will be installed in an area of 355 hectares, the equivalent of more than 300 football fields. According to the State, the hybrid plant is in the process of regularizing its properties and obtaining an environmental license for future construction. When fully implemented, the project will serve, on average, 1.5 million homes per year.
The estimate for implementing all these projects is four years, scheduled to begin in 2023. The first stage is expected to come into operation at the end of 2024 and it is expected that all phases will be completed by 2027. In total, The Minas Gerais government expects to generate more than 400 jobs during the implementation period.
solar generation
Minas Gerais is the only state in the country that, to date, reached the mark of 1 GW of installed solar distributed generation (DG) power. In total, there are already 1.25 GW, which corresponds to 18.7% of the entire installed potential in Brazil, with 845 cities supplied by their own generation (99.1% in Minas Gerais municipalities).
All this solar energy is produced from photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs of houses and residential buildings, condominiums and public buildings, including commercial and industrial ones, as well as rural properties, according to data from ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency.
