Sabesp's first photovoltaic plant goes into operation

The first photovoltaic plant from Sabesp (Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo) came into operation in the city of Orindiúva, in the interior of the state of São Paulo.

The unit has an installed capacity of 1 MW with the potential to generate 1.9 GWh per year. According to the company, it is enough to supply 44% of the municipality's population and help reduce electricity costs in seven other surrounding municipalities. 

The plant was implemented in the Orindiúva sewage treatment plant and occupies an area of 18 thousand square meters. The company responsible for supplying the equipment is Cápua Projetos e Construções, selected through a bidding process. The inauguration was held on Tuesday (2) virtually.

The online event was attended by Benedito Braga, president of Sabesp, Marcos Penido, secretary of Infrastructure and Environment of São Paulo and Mirele Martins, mayor of Orindiúva. 

“Today, we are working on renewing our energy matrix, bringing renewable energy, clean energy, generating less pollution, less carbon emissions, and bringing efficiency to public spending”, stated secretary Marcos Penido during the online event. 

According to Eric Carozzi, Operational Development Superintendent at Sabesp, the plant is part of the company's Distributed Generation Program and is expected to generate annual savings of R$ 50 million for the company. 

Later this year, Sabesp plans to build ten more photovoltaic plants in the state. In total, 33 plants will be implemented under the program, with power between 1 MW and 4 MW each, totaling 73 MW. O investment will be around R$ 250 million, financed by IDB Invest (Inter-American Development Bank).